A Summoner's Tale
by tok3n
Summary: Getting into the League of Legends is hard, but becoming one of the best in Valoran is something many dream to be. But for the many, only the few with the ambition and resilience can ever make it to the very top of the ladder. This is a Summoner's tale of Yin and his climb to be the best.
1. Welcome to the Institute of War Part 1

A Summoner's Tale

Welcome to the Institute of War Part 1

 **A/N:** _A try on writing a story. As most people say, I don't own anything but please don't lynch me if the lore isn't perfect to what you want to believe. Chunking down my plots into arcs to keep it on point and on track and will also give me time to think of new ideas for the future. I always have problems wanting to progress the story without feeling like the chapter becomes a stonewall of text so I will do my best to update as I am also a professional procrastinator._

 _-Narrated_

The rapping of leather shoes contacting the white stone and marble that consisted of a road tapped in a metronomic fashion as eyes wondered around at the sight of the Capital of Demacia. The bright colors of red and yellow flew in every banner, flag and/or sign which held a potpourri of meanings from the symbol of royal houses to common signs such as bakeries and tailor shops. This was brought out even more by the spring sunshine that was radiating over with a comforting vibe as others mingled within the shops and each other.

The light black jacket and brown pants the stranger wore was in a deep contrast to the robes of blue and yellow that most of the crowd was wearing, essentially making him stick out like a sore thumb. His ignorance led to others glancing him looks of disdain, believing him to be a sort of low commoner or peasant that was just on his way to do some sort of lowly errand.

The man's pace began to pick up as his eyes began to scan from building to building as if he was looking for the perfect one. This would mean that his eyes were woefully distracted from the prancing of a blonde woman as she skipped with her baton right into him with a loud **thump**.

The 'crash', in lightly put terms was merely the man falling onto the ground as the woman's body froze instinctively as an attempt to figure out what had happened.

"OhmygoshI'msosorry." the woman spewed, her hands reaching out proactively to help the stranger back up. The stranger made a light groan, rubbing his back as he took the woman's hand out of consideration even though he could make it back up on his own.

"I believe that is my fault. Wasn't watching where I was going." The man replied, his hand rubbing his neck as the woman tilted her head to the side. Her fear of accidentally hitting a noble turned to curiosity as she gave the stranger a better look. Tanned skin, messy brown hair and brown eyes were the first three things she noticed. A closer inspection found three distinct lines that went through his right eye.

"Uhhh, excuse me?" The stranger interrupted, his eyes making contact with hers as a realization that she was starring suddenly caught up to her. Her mouth began to open when the man's eyes suddenly opened as big as dinner plates as his fingers gave a snap and a hint of glee gleamed in his eyes.

"You're Lux!" The man exclaimed, his voice filled with excitement as Lux brought her fingers over her mouth.

"SHHHHH! No one is-" She started only to be interrupted again by a much deeper voice, his voice resonating with both disapproval and relief.

"To know that you snuck out of the College of Magic where you are to help oversee the qualifications right now." The man was armored from head-to-toe minus the helm, his great sword casually resting on his back with a sling attached as his arms were folded in a disapproving manner.

"But Brother... Rarely anyone is showing up and there is nothing **TO** do there."

"You **DO** have a purpose there and that is help choose the upcoming-"

"And Garen too?! Must be my lucky day!" The excitement from the man seemingly ignored the immediate argument between the two. Garen's face solidified into a frown, his eyes eyeing up the man as he posed himself between Lux and the stranger.

"Ignoring the fact you might have injured a Crownguard, what exactly what is your business here? Your clothes... aren't Demacian so answer up or I'll jail you for insubordination." An sigh of exasperation came from Lux as the man looked over his dirtied jet black cloak and brown pants as he merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Appearances aren't everything, Captain of the Dauntless. I was looking for the College of Magic since I am entering myself into the General Qualification Test."

Garen's face contorted to confusion. "You do know who is running it correct?"

 _College of Magic: General Qualification Test - Three hours in_

 _-Narrated_

The rhythmic sound of fingers tapping polished wood echoed in the qualification hall that sat a long wooden table which held five seats, three being currently occupied. In the middle of the table, a man with white but blue outlined robes sat with a bored expression worn on his face. A hand stifled a yawn as he rubbed his hand over his graying, blue hair.

"Founder Silverman? The next group is ready..." The voice of the man sitting to the left of him evaporated the bored expression, his eyes sharpened in a steely glaze as he looked to his left.

"How many?" The man looked down at his pad of paper, a soft sense of hesitation briefed the silent air before he spoke.

"Five with only three of them passing the written and theory section. Two from the group who didn't pass the written and theory have dropped, leaving with just three left."

Clicking his mouth in slight annoyance, Silverman pushed his hair back as his hand scratched his cheek. "What is so hard with wanting a higher standard of qualifications that people seem to not like? They do know they are coming into the Institute of War to become a Summoner, not to get free board and food..."

Under the qualification test, it was solely bound to the Founder who was running it to choose what the requirements were to pass the test. Silverman required in his general qualification test that applicants had to pass two out of three sections in order to be considered to come to the Institute of War. There was the written and theory, practical uses of basic spells and a simulation to test knowledge if it came be. In the first hour, 150 applicants signed up with only 10 making the cut. Once it was heard that Silverman was running the qualification, applications dropped to a measly 10 in the second hour and now only 3 in the third hour.

"Do you know if Garen has found Lux? It would have been so nice to get up and go for a nice stroll with such a low turnout today." Silverman complained lightly.

"During our break, one of the guards from Garen's regiment told us she was found. They should be coming with the applicants right now." The man on his right said, his eyes still glued to the book that was in front of him at the moment.

The opening of the heavy, wooden doors echoed through the hall, a loud crack as the doors were pushed as Garen and Lux led a line of three towards the center of the hall. The windows from the roof gave a natural light to the hall, the table sat just behind the line of the center of the hall as any tables, chairs and assortments were pushed to the very sides to make an open stage for the applicants to show off their skills. Within the gap, chairs about 10 deep sat in neat rows that lined to about 20 rows in total.

"Stand here." Garen pointed to the center of the 'stage' as all three applicants lined up to where Garen ushered them in before he took his spot on far right side of the table as Lux took her spot on the far left side of the table.

Silverman stood up, his face glazed over the three applicants with his eyes eyeing down the man in black and brown compared the blue and yellow robes of the others. Clearing his throat, he made sure to bring his attention to the group as a whole. "Welcome applicants, to the General Qualification Test of your practical and knowledge skills..."

 _20 minutes later..._

It was strange, sitting here and being the only one from the group that didn't pass the written exam. Granted, some of the questions seemed like you needed to be in a high level summoner school and all but for what he knew, it seemed he did a good enough job of knowing the more general stuff. A solid 30% score on the written. A slight wince reflected what he truly felt of his score as something he needed to work on.

The speech from the person of the middle was nothing more inspiring than it seemed technical, giving the applicants a clear goal that they had the opportunity to back up if they so failed the practical section and did not wish to continue to the simulation. The practical seemed easy enough from what he saw, the daily uses of the spells to everyday trouble such as using ghost to sprint from side to side in a time limit or to use teleport as a way from getting around obstacles.

That didn't really translate for the first two, seemingly having trouble with what seemed to be internal pressure set on themselves from knowing who the testers were. Apparently, this Silverman person was quite a stickler for these qualification tests but wasn't it their job to find the best and not just the mediocre?

The simulations fared no better for the two in front of him. In the simulation, it was given that you would be given a time limit of a mock one vs. one with the option of choosing your opponent of the three on the table excluding the called 'champions' of Lux and Garen. Both chose the people beside rather than the man who ran the qualifications, piquing his curiosity. It was when he saw the man in front of him, bowing his head in defeat when he heard he did not pass and saw him slump his way out of the hall that he knew his turn was next.

"Next." The simple word made him jump with brief excitement, making him run up to the table in the hopes to shake their hands, but he was stopped when a hand posed in front of them.

"No one comes up unless told otherwise." A thick, brassy monotone from the man to the right said as he merely tapped his hands on the table before setting himself to the center of the stage

"Name." The man to the left said drolly, a somewhat dry and bored tone that held a bit of a scratchy sound of someone impoverished of water.

"Kyle Yin-Yue but I usually like to be called Yin."

Silverman's brow seemed to prop up. "An unusual last name. That is Ionian for music."

A small smile crept on Yin's face. "Indeed it is, I was orphaned in Zaun but I always liked music so I thought it would be fitting to have such a last name."

"Where did you go to learn how to become a Summoner?"

"Uhhh... I learned most things being on the road, doing different errands and jobs. I mostly lived on the streets since it was easy finding any kind of jobs. Construction and errand boys were the most common."

"Did you go to any Summoner school? Did you receive any training?" Yin merely shook his head side to side as the questions flew at him.

Faces of skepticism showed from the reviewers that flank Silverman as the man oozed of a lowly commoner rather than a person deemed worthy to take this test. The written section that was a part of his dossier also didn't help the view that Yin was out of his league and he didn't know it. However, Silverman's eyes were entranced with Yin, a plethora of information sinking in as Silverman attempted to discern who the man was.

"Let's get started shall we?" Silverman offered, Yin giving him a wide smile as he stretched his neck from side to side. Silverman looked to his right, giving him a light nod before turning his attention back to the 'stage'.

"Please show us a basic flash spell." No words were spoken as Yin's hands moved a quickened pace. A quick brief of light moved Yin from the left to the right.

"Show us a basic ignite spell." Again, no words spoken with his hand movements as a slight crackle came into existence, an orangey hue covering the man's right hand.

"Barrier. Heal. Cleanse." Again and again, only hand motions drew up the nature of the spell, the resilience from spell to spell held the same power and resonance from the last. All three reviewers looked at each other, it was the first time they saw an applicant showed the use of non-verbal spell casting. The uttering of words weren't there for no reason but to set the mind in the right state to attain the correct power to use the spell.

"Show us the usage of ghost moving from side to side." Yin moved to one side before facing the front. A slow breath in and a quick motion of his hands of what seem to make the letter G moved as he disappeared quickly reappearing at the other side then back to the same position.

"Well, well. Isn't he full of surprises Kei?" Silverman looked to the man to the right who held the thick, brass monotone voice.

"He used a variation of both ghost and flash together to increase effectiveness." Kei answered, while pushing his deep purple hood back, a revealing light given a sheen to his jet black hair and his face showed an age of a mid 30s.

"He is merely moving his hands and that is nothing special. Any basic Summoner can easily learn it! Moreover he did the spell incorrectly!" The man to the left pulled his platinum hood back, dirty red hair and green eyes with a defining youthful face of someone hitting their prime in their mid twenties spoke.

"All spells have slight variations to them but I do believe that true knowledge is known if it can be seen." The man in the dirty red hair winced, his eyes burning with anger from subtle provocation from Yin.

"Are you attempting to challenge my knowledge as a Demacian noble of House Trinnad and a platinum summoner?" The man rose, anger seeping into his rising voice.

"Shun... Remember who you are representing our Institute with." Kei warned, a scorning glare like a parent scolding a child as Shun bit his lip as an attempt to reel in his anger.

"If the Founder accepts, of course. I do believe I did fail quite miserably on my written but you were not really my choice of the opponent. I felt it would a much more learning experience if I could challenge the Founder himself as it seems to be the only time you could do so otherwise." Yin explained politely, adding a small bow for theatrics with one arm sweeping the air to the side.

"Grand Summoner Kei, you can't be serious in letting him have such insubordin-"

"I accept your request Yin but you must first show your skills to the one who seems to deem you unworthy of joining us." Silverman interrupted, his hands cupped together with his mouth in his hands as he sat in silence. He glanced over to Shun, a spark gleaming in his eyes as he tussled his blue hair with a quick scratch. "Unless... You disapprove Shun."

"Not a chance." The sentence was tightlipped, clearly wanting to put some obscenities into his answer. Shun quickly stood up, moving himself with a determined pace to set himself into the middle of the open stage as both opponents faced each other.

"The rules are simple. Spells aimed to kill or maim are forbidden. Spells should be only used to give the opponent a sprain at most. Weapons are prohibited while bare-handed attacks are acceptable. Any such misdemeanors will be severely punished. The winner will be chosen if the other opponent admits defeat or if the Founder or myself determines that one party is unable to continue. Understand?" Kei explained. Both opponents nodded their head, a quick hand coming from Yin.

"One moment, need to re-tie my shoes. Would be quite embarrassing if I tripped." Yin bent down, his hands touching the floor as they crossed back to his shoes as he quickly re-tied them before standing back up.

"No worries... I'll be knocking them off you no matter how hard you tie them."

"Stop the banter and take your positions." Kei intervened, his eyes looking as each opponent took a stance. Shun took a standard summoner combat pose, two hands with palms out if he was pushing an object. Yin took a step back , his right foot dragging behind him as he brought his right hand behind his back as he circled his left hand to the front of him.

"Good luck Gentlemen. Begin!"

"Gho-" Shun started to say only to see Yin vanish immediately right in front of him. "What the Fuck?!" His eyes quickly scanned the area, bringing back his arms to block his chest as he took a more defensive stance. "Clairvoyance!"

A shimmer came as his eyes scanned right, propping his hands as he began to cast. Instantly, Shun felt a pain from his back as he was tossed forward as he barreled into a quick somersault turning around. "Barrier!" A white circular shield was tossed around his hands s he believed to find himself under another assault only to find nothing.

"Where are you coward!" Shun shouted, an attempt to provoke his opponent as he stood up cautiously, keeping his barrier up.

"Whew! Garen and Lux weren't kidding when they said the Institute of War only accept the best!" Yin said with a tone of admiration, Shun turning to see him standing behind him from where he had started. "Most people just get hit when I do that."

A mix between a snarl and a growl exited Shun's lips, his barrier evaporating into nothing as he charged Yin in anger. "I'll show you your place." His hands smacking together as he cracked his knuckles.

A quick shout of ghost pushed Shun off his spot, Yin stepping back from his original spot as he reformed into his stance. Shun casted a barrier on his right forearm, swinging it forward as he surged into Yin. Yin countered with a right round kick, a barrier also forming around the leg, swinging it into the attacking forearm. Clashing, Yin parried with a quick side kick, forcing Shun back as he swung his arms to block the oncoming kick. Shun heaved his weight as he reached to grasp his leg, hoping to throw him onto the ground. However, as his hand contacted Yin's leg, the form of Yin's body suddenly disappeared again.

Again, a sharp pain on his back as he was budged forward, stumbling as he attempted to maintain his footing. Then, another sensation of pain to his back followed by another and another as Shun stumbled around the stage. The fifth barrage of this attack put Shun on the defensive, casting a quick barrier as he panted for air, the attacks seeping at his stamina as he was made to constantly react to his opponent.

"The fuck..." Shun muttered under his breath, frustration was building as he put a quick Clairvoyance to spot Yin's movements. Scanning and scanning boiled like hot water as he looked around only to find Yin on the exact same spot that he started from. Anger sparked then faded as a realization hit him like a tidal wave. The tying of Yin's shoes made Shun look at the ground, runic symbols shined with a low dim as it glowed in a greenish hue. "Teleport runes..."

Quickly grasping around his robe as he threw it off of him to inspect only found what he had suspected as he stood in a white shirt and pants. Clear runic symbols of the same type as the ones of the ground, imprinted neatly on the back of his robes. "H-H-How-" Another realization, the first attack from Yin when he took the initiative that put Shun on the defensive.

A noise that mixed between the sound of a chuckle and amusement directed Shun's attention as he turned towards Founder Silverman, his small grin hidden by his hands that he had rested his chin on. "It looks like this fight has already been decided." Eyes glanced towards Yin, as Shun had a moment of lost words before finding them to speak up.

"Founder, I am still able to continue!" Shun insisted, throwing his hands down to his sides in protest.

"No, this fight is finished."

"Please Founder, I-"

"I said, this fight is finished." Hands slammed onto the table with a crisp **thunk** as Silverman stood up. The tone was calm, yet it could freeze lakes with ease the way it was spoken from Founder Silverman, eyes that could pierce through steel and with a frown that could intimidate any formidable foe. "You let your own rank deceive yourself. Your arrogance made you blind, totally underestimating your enemy. Your emotions clouded your judgment to deduce the fighting conditions and movements of your opponent, allowing him to have the upper-hand the whole fight. **Now sit down and take your loss**!"

The emphasis of the Founder's statements stunned Shun, his mouth moving but no words were expressed as words fumbled in silence. His legs wobbled, then gave out as he stumbled onto the ground, knees first as he sank into his chest. "I have shamed my name..." He whispered silently as he looked down, his head hung from the total loss of confidence.

 **Slap!** Shun's head heaved forward before being propped up as he looked to see Yin on top of him. "My goodness, what a poor sport." Sourness and anger filled Shun's voice as he attempted to look as contempt as possible. Yin turned into a frown, the first to be seen, as he squatted down. "Take this fight two ways. Either sulk in your own misery and grouch that you shamed your name, lost to a 'peasant', whatever excuse you can think of to take you off the hook... Or get off your feet and take this as a challenge." Yin brought his hand out, a slight hesitation as Shun analyzed the scene before reaching and being pulled up. The appreciation wasn't there but in the silent act, respect began to grow off from Shun.

"Then, I accept your challenge." Shun answered before turning to Kei. Kei simply nodded before looking to Founder Silverman, his eyes glowing in fervor as he watched the scene occurred. Kei simply turned to Garen and Lux as they were entranced not just by the fight, but the man who stood in front of them. Founder Silverman made direct eye contact with Kei, his head slowly nodding down, a signal of what was to come.

"I believe the Founder as made his decision. As these circumstances... is quite an outlier, I believe personal space should be given for both the applicant and the Founder." A soft, agitated groan came from Lux as she bumbled out of her seat.

"But, it was getting so interesting. I especially want to know how he was able to make those illusions using ghost!" Lux complained.

"Lux! Do not backtalk the Grand Summoner!" Garen hissed, slightly annoyed by Lux's openness. A childish pout from Lux only drew the attention and stifle of laughter from Yin as he watched the two bicker as they were escorted out with Shun lagging behind, a quick last glance before shutting the doors behind them. The echoes of footsteps died as Yin turned, facing the Founder who still sat at his seat. Soft giggles turned into a burning musical of outright laughter as he watched the Founder stand to his feet, his arms fully spread out.

"You really are full of suprises! I believe, we should talk somewhere more accommodating!" Founder Silverman said, a beaming smile on his face as Yin could only guess what the Founder was talking about.

 _1 hour, 30 minutes later..._

 _-Yin_

It was interesting as he sat in a soft, cushioned chair surrounded by what seem to be magnolia drapes with gold-lined portraits and polished wood furniture as he sat across from Founder Silverman, reading some sort of article on a train destined for the Institute of War. It was easy to laugh at the situation. The Founder told Yin to meet him outside to which he found four or so heavily armored guards escorting in a pristine carriage that rode him all the way down to the train station that had intersected in the middle of Demacia's capital.

From there, he was escorted to an isolated train compartment, filled with an abundance of food, drinks and other amenities that would make his ride enjoyable. An hour of waiting in this compartment by himself as he inspected where he had been place was stopped when the Founder finally arrived, taking a few steps inside before resting on one of the couches where the two sat across from each other now in silence. The train was chugging on silently as Yin's eyes wander around. His fingers tapped nervously on the seat rest as the sight of having four guards standing at the entrances of the compartment did not help ease Yin.

"The Institute makes background checks to check all passed applicants before they enter so any malice or ill intent will be found before you even get to the Institute... although I doubt you are the type to use the helpless." Yin merely shrugged, his hands rapped on the polished wood as he sat in his chair.

"Where exactly are-." "Your right eye, it isn't biologically yours." The interruption from the Founder didn't come out as a question, more than a statement. Yin's eyes blinked twice before recovering, a hand unconsciously covering his right eye as he gave a weak smile. The Founder shifted in his seat, his body leaning forward as he tussled with his graying, blue hair. Holding his hands together, Founder Silverman leaned forward as his arms rested on the armrests as Yin let out a soft sigh.

"Synthetic eye, the outside of the eye is made from a real human while the rest that makes the inside is mostly made using bionics similar to the devices used for those who are partially or fully deaf." Yin explained, his answer hoping to satisfy the Founder's question but seeing his soft glare only showed that the answer that was given to him was not sufficient. However, Founder Silverman merely looked over his shoulder, grabbing a bowl of nuts as he tossed a couple into his mouth.

"You know something interesting?" Silverman shook a finger as he quietly munched on the nuts that were placed in his mouth. "Do you know the phrase; When Jack sees red, Evil runs?" Yin's mouth twitched, his tongue clicking as he deduced why he had been sitting in this compartment by himself, heavily guarded for a complete hour.

"I thought you said the Institute made the background checks, not the Founders." Yin stated, his feet shifting on the rug-covered floor. Paranoia made the smart survived, making sure that any situation he brought himself had all the bases covered. It is how he had survived for so long on the streets and he made an under the breath hiss at his carelessness. It was foolish of Yin to let his guard down instead of aimlessly inspecting the silverware. "How much have you looked into me?"

Founder Silverman merely glanced at his feet, a small smirk drew to his face as he held his hand up. "Paranoia is good on the streets, but in here or at the Institute, it is trust that keeps you alive." The statement deflected the question but Yin couldn't let off a small scoff of annoyance.

"Trust is like playing Noxian Roulette except with a mana crystal already loaded." Yin rebutted.

"Depends on who you give your trust. More or less that is where you play Noxian Roulette. Who and who not to trust." The Founder got out of his chair, moving around as he moved to grab what seem to be a pitcher filled with a reddish liquid and two glasses as he moved back to his seat. Setting the pitcher and glasses down on the polished table, he started to move his hands, the liquid easily floating up out of the pitcher and pouring without a spill into the two glasses.

Yin watched as he grabbed the glasses, handing out one to him before he started to sip on his drink. He gave the Founder a suspicious glance, his instincts telling him to never drink something that he hadn't tested but it came to the other side where if he did wanted him dead, he would be. He took the smallest of sips, a sweet and bitter taste entering his lips as he swished it in his mouth before swallowing. "It's good" Yin commentated.

The Founder lazily raised his glass as he took another sip. "Your fighting style is unique. It was similar to the Vigilante that roamed around Valoran that seemed to be called the 'Jack of All Trades."

"Apparently, they miss the second part where it says 'the master of none'." Yin sarcastically added, a snigger coming out of the Founder as he placed his glass down.

"Indeed. But how you fought is too eerily similar to that of the unmasked Vigilante. You fight with speed, making sure you always have the advantageous position over your opponent. Same went with the Vigilante and the perfect execution of the use of teleport runes and using ghost as an illusion is also the Vigilante's forte." Yin was both impressed and speechless by the Founder's hypothesis of his fighting style. "It also came down to that being pictured with the same photo as the Vigilante, you both drew the same stance. That and you should really think about changing your attire."

"I guess I got a little too excited that I showed myself off a bit too much" Yin revealed, half-heartedly accepting the Founder's claims. Even if he was able to cover his tracks, the Founder was able to find this much information in little over an hour. Given more time, Yin didn't want to think about how much he could uncover about his life. "What else have you implored yourself to know about me?"

"I only was able to dig the basics of your life though. An orphan in your younger years living in Zaun, moving from foster home to foster home until you lived on the streets for most of your years as a teenager. Taking jobs here and there, some much more... odd end then your typical work as you bounced from country to country. You are 21 yes?" Yin simply nodding at the information the Founder was given.

"As I said, I grew up in Zaun as an orphan and I survived, learning my way through the streets."

"Yet, curious enough? Little to no information was given about how you become a Summoner."

A tug smirked at Yin's lips as he simply shrugged his shoulders. He felt as if he should make some sort of answer up but he was saved as the whistle of the train blew through as he felt to compartment slow down to a rolling, comfortable halt. He raised himself from his seat as he looked through one of the windows.

Outside, the station was basic. A rooftop shaped upwards with black tiles covering the top with steel poles lined up in measured spaces to give a sturdy foundation. Few benches and trash bins were laid around the station as both the Founder and Yin were propped out with the crowd as they made their way out of the station.

Walking through the exit of the station hall, Yin's eyes feasted on a small town that was embellishing the huge crowd that was roaming through the streets. Restaurants packed with boiling excitement, taverns filled with roaring laughter and shops filled with talks of furious bargains between the customer and shopkeeper filled Yin's senses as they walked through the town. People began to notice the Founder, giving way like if he held on to some mysterious force that didn't allow people within a certain vicinity of them.

At the end of this town was two stone pillars, each housing a square-based pyramid crystal glowing a light blue, in front of what seemed to be a gigantic temple. The entrance was like entering a mausoleum, perfect white marble gracing his eyes. The walls were covered in different inscriptions, patterned in a stylized fashion which also glowed in a faint of blue. Purely spinning around, he took all the information in from the beauty of the building to the writings on the wall.

"You never told me where we are going?" The Founder merely smiled, watching the reaction of Yin as he simply brought his arms behind his back as he replied.

 **"Let me introduce myself properly. I am Founder Silverman of Water, one of the 5 members of the Head Council. Welcome! To the Institute of War or as we call it, the League of Legends!"**


	2. Welcome to the Institute of War Part 2

A Summoner's Tale

Welcome to the Institute of War Part 2

 _-Narrated_

The Institute was much more grandiose than Yin had expected. Mazes of pristine halls formed different pathways that led in a multitude of directions, each leading to some wing or branch at the final destination. What made up the Institute the most was the different wings that held each 'ranked' group of Summoners. Each wing represented the 'power and strength' a Summoner held, somewhat holding a hierarchal tier system.

The **Unranked** were usually prospects that were too young to become a Summoner or Summoners that have not been ranked but were now ready to be put into the rank system. **Bronze** was where most Summoners start, being the biggest wing of all the six rank tiers, held Summoners that have just started in the Institute of War. Climbing up through **Silver** and **Gold** is where development as a Summoner is grown to becoming one of the elite. From there, ranking through **Platinum** and **Diamond** was where technical prowess showed who was most deserving of becoming the elite. Then came the new tier, **Master** , split those that were ambitious and those who became complacent during their time in the rank system for that only these members could apply to become into the tier of **Challenger**. This tier was the cream of the crop, where most to all Summoners in this tier were used if there was any high stakes diplomatic matches that were set. Adding to this, each Summoner was announced to be a League Diplomat who represented for their announced region/country such as Demacia or Noxus.

The luxury of space also came from the rank on your shoulders. If you were Bronze, you would most likely be in a Dorm with a few other members of your tier while being in Challenger led to a luxurious life living in a League-paid Condo and any other necessities to help you in life for just you. For Yin, he was more fascinated with the exclusive Grand Library that the Institute held. The size was fantastically huge, being about 11000 m2 while holding massive wings for books, meeting rooms, auditorium and even a cafe!

It was here where Yin had posted himself, surrounding himself with a mountain of books as light snores escaped his partially opened lips as his head gently laid on top of a thick encyclopedia. He had taken the liberty of 'exploring' the library as soon as his tour had mentioned the place, although it was hard to say if you call it a 'tour'. All it consisted of was a disgruntled Summoner who had only taken it from the request of Founder Silverman, leading the tour that dragged him through the whole Institute in the shortest amount of time. He seemed more than happy to leave when Yin asked if he could go into the library, only telling him the general direction of his actual living quarters.

While they were on the 'tour', Yin had recalled that there was a certain pool of champions that were rotated for a certain time frame. The way it worked was that champions were rotated to give them a 'spotlight' to be used in any Summoner's upcoming matches. Since some champions are placed higher than others, it had left some disparity which some champions got very little time to shine on the stage of Summoner's Rift while others were constantly played. It also gave time to those champions that were constantly played a break in which a well-deserved rest was needed.

The mountain of books that laid around Yin in a neat little semi-circle were on various topics from farming minions properly, harassing, champion abilities and strategies to different Summoners spells that could be used in a game. Yin had dug a literal trench of paper that could stop any mortar shells that reality shot at him as each book consumed time itself as he read with an insistent pace. It wasn't until reading halfway in the 10th book he held that his body had commandeered his brain to which it had responded to Yin's relentless reading assault by shutting his brain off and passing out on top of the book he was reading.

Clomping feet with the occasional tapping of what sounded to be from a cane echoed through the hallways as a jackal-like humanoid roamed. The humanoid walked through the corridors, a ' **Was** scepter' in hand, as glowing blue eyes pierced through the sea of books as they monitored from side to side. The beat of footsteps and the clunking of the scepter grew louder and louder as he rounded another corridor, finding himself facing Yin whose head was laying precariously on a book. A small, deep chuckle reverberated through his lips as he stepped closer to Yin, his eyes spotting how his right eye was slightly open.

Getting closer and closer, the humanoid suddenly saw the right eye flash with a small dim hue of red as the man suddenly jumped from his spot. A hand clutch his eye as he hissed in pain as he attempted to hold back any obscenities. "Ahh... Son of a..." Yin spat angrily, trailing his words off as he rubbed his eyes. His eyes blinked in rapid succession as the shock of light temporarily blurred his vision as he aimed to re-focus his sight.

"Are you alright Summoner?" The deep vibrating undertone shook the air as Yin squinted to look towards the direction of the voice. The face began to sharpen as Yin's eyes began to focus on the image till he realized who had asked the question. Eyes opened like dinner plates in surprise as Yin shot up from his seat.

"My apologies! I did not recognize you there, Curator of the Sands." Yin added a quick but respectful bow as the voice chuckled at the startled movements.

"At ease, Summoner. I prefer if you called me Nasus instead of my title. It... brings back bad memories." The hint of hesitation was easily heard as Yin looked at the mountain of books.

"How long was I... you know... Sleeping?" He asked gingerly, rubbing his neck, massaging a sore area of his neck as he moved his neck from side to side.

"I would give or take about 10 hours." A face of disgust drew over Yin's face as he clicked his tongue in nervousness. However, a short snort came out of Nasus as he started to piece that this person was very new to the Institute.

"The library is always open 24 hours to all. I only curate here for 18 hours of the day or if I am called to the Rift for a match, Summoner." A look of relief flushed over Yin's face as Nasus looked over at the copious stack of books. Most of the books were books Nasus have seen. Information and details about the list and champions that included himself filled the pile with the detailed book about what you could do when you played on Rift. "How long ago have you been in the Institute Summoner?"

"I just got here yesterday." A face of realization occurred as he quickly added. "Ah, I apologize for not introducing myself, my name is Yin." Yin brought a hand out heartedly as Nasus took a hand, a firm and yet quick handshake as Nasus gave a small smirk.

"I'm assuming you separated the books into those that you have read and not read. How are you able to read 6 different encyclopedias at such a fast pace." Nasus nodded towards the stack, Yin giving a small shrug with his shoulders as he threw his hands in the air.

"I just read fast I guess." A small scoff of annoyance came off Nasus as he set his scepter down.

"I believe you been around too many ignorant people. Your eye has something to do with it." Nasus concurred. _He's very perceptive. Most likely all the Champions I will be meeting will be the same._ The thought occurred in Yin's head as he pointed to his right eye.

"Looks like it. This eye is a mix of both synthetic and bionic tech that was set to be a prototype. Functions like a normal eye but also helps with quickly processing information." Yin said simply, the face on Nasus told the answer was not at all satisfying but it looked like he wasn't going to press on.

"I see. Don't most Summoners stay in their wings rather than camp in a Library." Yin gave a dismissive wave of a hand as he grabbed a book.

"That's usually why most people I hang around with are ignorant." He added simply, as he brought the book to one of the shelves. He was intercepted by Nasus, taking the book as he reached for another in the mountain pile that stacked on the poor table that it was being used for,

"I will bring them back. I was looking for one of the books that you have taken as it has been requested. I also have a request to give to you. You are to meet the Head Council in an hour at the Justice Wing." Yin's mouth gapped and was momentarily frozen at the request, looking at the wrinkled form of his clothing. "The quickest exit is just down this corridor and the last left turn." Nasus added.

"Uhh.. Thanks. I think I can see my way out and I think I need to find a new set of clothes." Yin said, taking off at a fast pace as Nasus watched his figure disappear as he finally rounded the corridor.

"He is much more powerful than he gives away..." Nasus noted, looking at the stack of piles as he began to reorganize them to be put away.

 _45 minutes later..._

 _-Yin_

 _Bless whoever thought the idea of giving the new transfers some of their clothing products to wear._ Yin thought as he paced through one of the many hallways as signs pointed him towards the Hall of Justice. Changing out of his messy, wrinkled clothing, he stood out now wearing black blazer that held the League of Legends logo on the shoulders and blue jeans. Walking down the aisle, he was passed with stares and hushed whispers as he turned at another corner to another hallway. Few more minutes of walking ended him at the end of a hallway with imposingly huge doors that blocked entry.

 _I believe... This is the room?_ Eyes glanced upwards as an sign that held the scripture of **HALL OF JUSTICE** was written in black and bold letters as it crossed the huge doors. Glancing around, he looked to see who would be here to introduce him or if he had to simply do it himself. Few minutes of glancing and standing around, he looked for some sort of indication that would give him some clue of what to do as he found absolutely nothing happening. Giving a small sigh, he turned back, raising a hand to door as it suddenly opened. Taken aback, he gave a few steps back, his body moving into a defensive stance as the doors creaked open.

Lights turned on, one after another in a methodical fashion, each gleaming a part of the floor in a circular perimeter as Yin looked through suspiciously. A tense feeling in his stomach began to form as he pursed his lips in attempt to slow down his heightened breathing. _Slow breathes, Stay on point._ He looked in the semi-dark room for any other exits, the only clear path was the same way that he could enter. He took one more look around, no one was in his sight as he cautiously and carefully stepped inside. A vibrating feeling entered then suddenly disappeared through Yin's body as he followed the lights, the door closing once he had fully passed the opened doors.

The trail of lights found an end as he stepped into the last light, his right eye glowed a light red hue as it was still scanning the environment as a voice echoed through his ears.

"Why do you wish to join the League?" Yin turned on a dime, his hands formed in a brawler's stance as the voice wisped. He couldn't pinpoint the voice, the tone was too faint to give him a solid direction as he swallowed the lump that sat in his throat. The voice seem to want no harm so being brazen was foolish, yet he had come into this situation on his own volition so he also couldn't be reserved.

"My answer will not be satisfying unless I know who I am speaking with." He answered into the dark. There was a small lapse of silence, the same vibrating sensation went through his body as he sat in the light against a view of darkness. Yin gave a small shiver but then a thought came through his head. _Wait... That sensation..._

"Why do you wish to join the League?" It answer again, this time as the sensation came through is body, Yin embraced the feeling, his hands moving in quick succession as he started to draw an eye. A sudden rebuff pushed him off balance as he set his arms forward as his feet surged behind him to catch his fall. He could hear laughter like a soft blowing wind as it grew louder and louder in force until it was fully ringing in his ears as the placement of five sitting and well-dimmed hooded figures sat in a semi-circle in front of him with name plates that sat in front of them.

"Wahaha! A very intriguing man!" Laughing lightly was a voice of a woman, wearing a light green robe, the name plate calling her Lapointe.

"Very interesting... Very Interesting..." A second female voice added in, this time it was very soothing with the calmness of her voice. She sat next to the one wearing green by wearing robes that bore the color of white, the name plate calling her Zheng.

"He sure took his time..." The man in red robes who was called Truman grumbled as the familiar voice of Silverman came with the chorus of observations.

"See, I told you so!" However, a woman sitting in purple with an embroidered gold outline sat silently, arms folded as he listened to the conversation.

"Don't be such a downer, Founder Truman." Lapointe exclaimed, looking to Truman.

"He also tried to backtrack our spell to pinpoint our location." Zheng added.

As the rumblings of the conversation kept going, Yin stood in a frozen awe. It was the first time he had failed to know where they were and they were able to suddenly appear right in front of him. That sent a cold chill down his spine as he jumbled around his mind for words. _I should have seen them..._ Yin thought, unable to produce words as he looked around.

"You wonder why you couldn't see us?" The piercing voice of the decorated purple robes stopped any conversation as all looked back at Yin. Yin simply nodded, his mouth was clearly shut from the power of the people in front of him. The voice was clear as day and spoke with a radiance of power and confidence when words were formed.

"Your eye may be a synthetic prototype, but your eye is also linked with your brain. That eye will only see things that you believe you can see. When you walked into this room, you created your own illusion to see a very narrow aspect which was the darkness instead of looking at the room as a whole. That is why you didn't see us."

Moments of silence passed as Yin took in the information, standing still as if he was meditating until a flash of a smile came across his lips. "That... IS SO COOL!"

"Bwahaha... Vannakis! I already like this new one." Lapointe laughed as she was remarked with a small hiss from Truman.

"Founder Lapointe... Do not act so casual!" Truman snapped back, a tsk escaping Lapointe's mouth as she made a soft pout. She opened her mouth for a rebuttal but the hand of Vannakis silenced the two quarrelling members.

"Your attitude towards knowledge is commendable but we must ask that you comply with our initial question. Why do you wish to join the League?" The confidence and power still sat in her voice but a cold steel was layered to the question, which made it sound more like a statement that needed an answer. Yin gave a brief smile, attempting to mask the chills that were still in his body as he gave a soft sigh out to relieve any nerves.

"I have nothing out there to lose and everything to gain from here. I wish to join the League since I have nothing that keeps me moving forward and I wish this gives me a sense of what I should do." His answer was quick and immediate, given the silence would be its claim as the woman named Vannakis said nothing as seconds ticked away.

"You are right Silverman! You really did find a diamond in the rough." Vannakis said lightly, sounding soft yet joyful at the newest acquisition. Silverman merely shrugged his shoulders as he sat back into his seat.

"However... We should still be focus on the application right now." Truman said seriously, hands tapping on his arm rests. He shifted in his seat, pushing up his worn glasses as a hand opened a folder that was clutched in his hands. Hands flipped through pages with blinding speed and quick organization was placed as papers that were irrelevant to the man's eyes were quickly placed at the back while the more relevant papers moved forward.

"Your eye is very unique, your type of eye comes close to the one that was only made by a man called Doctor Zephyr. Your eye helps you process more information than a normal human being can while also being able to store more information by an attached memory core that most likely operated to conjoin with your brain nerves. Apparently, sources tell us that you were under his tutelage until his untimely demise... Death by explosion." Truman noted off in his best matter-of-fact impersonation.

"You also trained under a man named Sylas." That responded a small snarl out of Yin, more out of instinct than controlled which he bit his lip.

"That... Is something I wish not to talk about." Yin said bitterly, his peers looked at each other before turning back to him.

"You cannot wish to hide all your secrets. We will find them all." Zheng calmly stated. Silverman shook his head from side to side, his arms folded as he clicked his tongue.

"Unfortunately we can't." Silverman asked, all heads and eyes swished towards his direction as exclamations poured forward.

"WHAT? HOW COME?! WHO DOES HE KNOW TELEPATHY?" Fired from all the other founders except Vannakis as it become a cacophony of remarks. A quick snap of her fingers and the use of some spell that brought a bright light quieted the room again as she looked forward with interest.

"You know don't you?" Vannakis asked, but it was more stating then anything. Yin gave a small sigh. A tingling sensation went through his brain, instead of fighting it though, he gave a deep breath as he let the memory resurface.

 _ **He sat on a table, a bloody eyepatch covered his right eye as he smelled the mix of sterile food and cleaner fluid. He had thought that a bunch of thugs were an easy score. Too bad he didn't read the label (the sign) saying they were part of the Devil Wings, one of the more notorious gang groups in Zaun. He had been cornered into a dead end, no place to run and no means to fight. The thugs set upon him, vicious smiles and thirst for blood painted their faces as Yin began to accept his fate. Then another confrontation, this time a well dressed man stood in front of him. Words were exchanged with a couple of obscenities but when the man took his hat off, the words disappeared and the thugs went too.**_

 _ **The memory faded, as another formed. This time he found himself tied down, a sharp pain in his eye as he looked around.**_

 _ **"The fuck you do to me?" Yin asked, struggling against the bonds that held him. the man simply cackled as he washed his bloody hands.**_

 _ **"You are my new protege, young man. You should be thankful." He stated, laughing softly as he turned the tap off.**_

 _ **"You didn't answer my question!" A sharp pain in his right eye again as Yin screamed in pain. The pain felt as if he was being stabbed with a knife, while part of his head was being cut open with a saw. The man had looked with interest, his eyes filled with pure joy as Yin panted as the pain began to subside. What filled a portion of his vision of black had suddenly turned his whole vision red.**_

 _ **"Excellent! The process is complete and you have fully integrated with it!" The well-dressed man shouted gleefully, skipping around the table. Yin shook angrily against his bonds, as he gritted his teeth.**_

 _ **"You fucking insane maniac. Will you answer the goddamn question?" The well-dressed man suddenly stopped, a frown formed as he turned to the binded Yin.**_

 _ **"Now, now boy! Listen here! My name is Z! You have integrated with my special prototype, one I like to call the Eye of Zaal. You have been chosen to be the wearer of this gem as it will grant you unimaginable intellect and wit. AND YOU WILL COMPLY!" Z hissed angrily as he jabbed a needle with some liquid compound as the memory faded.**_

 _ **Then , another followed. This time he was face to face with an older gentlemen with graying blonde hair who was wearing a very decorative outfit that held some military medals and an forest insignia.**_

 _ **"You will be my heir to my family" He shouted as Yin stamped his foot with anger.**_

 _ **"She is your daughter. She should be your heir! Yin argued back as the older man slammed a hand to the wall.**_

 _ **"Do not back talk me boy! She is a woman and unfit on keeping my dynasty!" Yin had pause in anger, the rage in his body was unable to comprehend what the older gentleman had said.**_

 _ **"She is FAMILY! How could you disregard her so blantly Sylas!" He yelled in utter rage.**_

 _ **"That's SIR SYLAS to you, you backwater brat!"**_

 _ **"You and your stupid ambitions on keeping a noble dynasty. If you are so willing to throw your own family away just to make sure that the dynasty could be kept, then you never had one to begin with!" The rebuttal was answered as Sylas swung a fist at Yin, easily ducking out of the way as Sylas's fist punched a lamp, breaking it into two as it fell to the ground. Blood slowly seeped out of his hand as he trembled with rage.**_

 _ **"You are no son of mine anyways, you filth! I never want to see you again! Get out!" The man had slumped into a chair, as Yin turned from passionate rage to cold distraught. He thought the man in front of him had loved him, yet he was easily casted out like a worn-out rag. Yin simply turned and made it for the door.**_

The memories faded, the quirk faded into a cold stare as Yin's eyes hardened from past disgust.

"Satisfied?" He never wanted to look back at his past. Too much anger, disgust and pain followed his years growing up and he felt it was better to be blissfully unaware of them.

"Merely. While your eye is your greatest trait is also your biggest curse." Vannakis said.

"It's similar to having eidetic memory or photographic memory. Except I remember things on a much more grander scale. I can remember even the most mundane of things like what I had for breakfast. But every memory I remember, I can also remember every smell, sight and even my emotions. It is as clear as if I had just experienced it yesterday. If you tell me the word kitchen, I can already smell cooked meat and vegetables with the chopping of knives on a board. It's taken me years to practice for me to block memories when different occasions can bring them back."

"Which makes it impossible for us to sort through all your 'memories' to find the ones we want." Vannakis said, completing his answer as she sat back in her chair. She gave a soft, yet frustrated hum as she closed her eyes.

"His feelings are pure though, transparent as water.. No pun intended." Zheng implied, looking at Silverman. "You may be able to hide your thoughts for now, but your feelings speak just as loud. Your actions as the Vigilante, Jack of All Trades, showed you constrained yourself against the guilty while putting yourself on the line for the victims. Regardless of what you thought, you are quite optimistic about giving second chances to others especially those that did the crime."

"Yet, he has troubles trusting others. Coming into here, he didn't trust that we mean no harm. He didn't even trust Founder Silverman when he was being escorted here." Truman interrupted, a remark that may seem snarky but held merit for Yin's distrust.

"Or is it that he doesn't trust himself with others close to him. He holds such a bubbly facade and yet he can easily flip to a very nasty individual." Lapointe rebutted, pointing out his flip in behaviour when the topic of Sylas came up.

"Yet, we don't base our assessment on people's personalities." Vannakis butted in, interrupting the different train of thoughts that were spoken aloud. She turned over to Silverman, eyes locked onto him as she spoke. "What do you think?

Silverman propped forward from his seat, his hands scratching his chin as he looked intently at Yin. He couldn't resist but give a nervous gulp from the stares and talks about him. Having his personality and past pulled was quite an endearing task which he was hoping he wouldn't go through again.

"He has no criminal record and I can personally say his abilities are well-attained. Even with our... complications, there are easily many ways to give an assessment towards his true reasoning to being here. Besides, I don't feel like we should waste such an opportunity to not accept this young man, do we agree?" Silverman stated, heads nodded in agreement.

"I do have one question." Yin turned to Vannakis, thinking the questioning and having to stand in such a vulnerable spot would be over.

"Do you hate John Sylas, the man that adopted you?" Yin bit his lip. The question was easily loaded and it was like they were expecting a rash answer. Maybe, this was their test but weren't they able to see his feelings like clear water? He could feel the rising anger anytime someone would mention that name and it was something Yin had a bad habit of doing. He hated that he was stubbornly holding onto a grudge that he should have let go but he wouldn't be able to accept the reality of it all.

"I... believe that people should always get second chances. Even when I believe that they were in the wrong." Yin answered finally, his voice trembled as he warded off his need to shout in a tantrum.

Vannakis gave a small huff of amusement, looking to both her right and left of the Council that sat around her as she gave a nod of appreciation. She stood up, the rest following suit as they rose after her.

"Then let us cordially say that we welcome you to the League of Legends. Since it is about mid-day, you will have approximately 6 hours before we put you into our placement match, where we set up similarly skilled Summoners such as yourself against each other to see where your skills rank on the Rift. You will be needing to play at least three matches, a rest of about 30 minutes will be given after each match so make sure you plan accordingly. You will find any more information in your room... although I believe your time in the Library will be well used."

With that, the five suddenly disappeared into thin air, their silhouettes emptied the room as a bright light dawned into the circular room where only Yin stood in the center of the now 5 neatly organized chairs that faced him. The doors creaked open slowly again as he turned around to face the noise. He could hear the bustling of people that were passing by as he turned back where the Founders use to seat as he gave a sigh of relief.

"I really got to learn how they do that."

 _4 hours, 30 minutes from meeting in the Hall of Justice_

 _-Yin_

A huff of frustration and his last bit of patience flew out of Yin as he traversed through the many corridors. It was getting onto the point of infuriation that there were this many hallways and not enough signs and maps that could help newcomers into getting to know where they were. He couldn't help but wander around dumbly as he looked for some sort of out that could help him get on the right direction. It also didn't help that he was hungry and there seemed to be no other Summoners that walked around these hallways.

Eyes lazily glanced from right to left and then from left to right as he maintained his course of walking around with no idea. His mind had been mulling over his meeting but also his recent observations of the Institute. On the outside, the building was beautiful with a seeming appearance that it was made for the goal of seeking unified peace and prosperity of all of Valoran. Yet inside, it felt like he was in a political viper's nest.

There were many times where he had watched verbal battles go between Summoners and even attacking Champions. Some called specific champions useless while you had the name calling of what he saw of a humanoid fox called a walking slut. Then you had political parties such as Summoners from Demacia and Noxus butting heads with each other, insulting their countries and attempting to prove which one was better.

Ironically, he rarely saw these interactions with the champions of the League of Legends. Even though some had harsh feelings for each other, they were able to make their encounters with each other tranquil. Even watching Swain and Jarvan past by was a sight to watch. The two had glaring stares that marked each other for death but both seemed to want to prove that on the Rift rather than making a qualm in the halls.

He had past another open space that looked to fielding some gardens when he could finally smell the faint aroma of food. His stomach growled, he hadn't eaten for a good 6 hours and this was going to be the first time he was going to have a good meal in a long time. He followed the scent, leading him to an open hallway that lead towards a cafeteria. The crowded movement of Summoners walking past the food-scented hall paused Yin. He watched as the sight of Garen and Lux walked into the hallways with a Summoner who was wearing purple robes but no one else followed them in. It was like they were actively avoiding that hallway for some odd and random reason. _I will most likely be eating in silence and I prefer that than having to listen to another group gossip about 'Who would you fuck?'_ Yin thought as he began to walk his way towards the door.

 _Some time for peace and quiet would be nice after being lost for a few hours._ Entering the hallway, he could not only smell the food but now could see it also as his mouth began to water.

"Oy! New guy!" A voice that held a small lisp while heavily accenting every last word. Yin kept on walking, his body wanting to get to the food as quickly as possible as he ignored the voice.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" The voice said again. Against his better judgment, Yin took a small glance back, eyes trying to find the source of the voice so he could just shut it up. What he found was three people, one wearing a defined silver while being flanked by two wearing bronze. _Oh! For the love of what is religious._ Yin cursed as he rolled his eyes before continuing his walk. What he didn't count on was another group of three Summoners blocked his path to the cafeteria, two sporting gray-ish silver and one sporting another bronze robes. _I'm going to swear that if I don't get food, someone is going through several walls just like Mr. Huph._

"You brat! You should know some respect when spoken to." The same voice said, placing it on the person who was wearing the defined silver color. "Don't you know the rules? No one is allowed to go into that cafeteria since it was made for Champions only."

"There is no sign restricting it. Is it some random thing you made up to show how much that stick is up your ass?" Yin responded dryly.

"You piece of shit. You aren't even ranked and yet you have the audacity to talk back to a silver summoner like me?" The man said, clenching his fists as they started to turn white with anger.

"Are you seriously throwing a tantrum at such a soft insult? Man, I hate to see you when someone actually gives it to you."

"I'm going to fucking beat your ass!" He said, throwing his fists up.

"Hey! We can't do that! What you thinking dude?!" Remarks came from the group as they failed to restraint the rising anger of the leader. The man charged Yin, throwing his arms back. "IGNITE" He yelled as he threw his arm forward. The punch was sloppy, the man's arm was outstretched and it was easy for Yin to simply side-step, move his left hand to hook across and hit where the elbow joint was which would create a momentum that would dislocate it. Instead, he casted a wordless barrier which he then easily caught the arm as he locked him into an arm-bar.

Yin moved his eyes around to survey his environment. He had noticed that people were starting to take a small interest and that meant a group was beginning to form around the confrontation. It was out of the corner of his eye that he noticed the same purple robes splitting the crowd.

"What is going on here?" Feminine in tone, yet carried cold anger. Yin caught the insignia of a rank but couldn't decipher what it was.

"Oh shit! It's Summoner Antonina! A Master Rank!" The name dropped with uneasy familiarity as Yin immediately dropped the man's arm. The five that had surrounded him seemed to have already split, leaving the man who was massaging his arm and himself in the middle of a group.

"There's nothing to see here! Move along!" She said with heavy gravitas as the group dispersed like a group of rats that were chased by a cat. Eyes turned to the downed man as the group dissipated.

"Terence... I already gave you a warning about that behaviour." Terence seem to give a small nod, his eyes looking down at the ground. "If I see it again..." She trailed off, Terence jumped to his feet, giving a mass of shaky nods as he scrammed.

The whole time Yin had an uneasy sensation. The voice was too familiar with her features of distinct bright red hair and blue eyes mirroring too close to someone that he knew a very long time ago. **S L A P!** A hard hand moving with the athletic 'curvy' body as the woman made a deep frown with her small lips as her cheeks puffed out with freckles, painted red with anger.

"Summoner Sylas!" Garen said, pacing towards her as Lux followed suit.

"Antonina! Why did you do that?!" Lux asked as Antonina ignored them, her stare only glaring at Yin.

"4 years Yin! 4 years! Then you show up here and you don't even come and find me first!" She stated angrily, pouting in frustration as she folded her arms. A weak smile appeared on Yin's face as he tried to save what dignity was left as he rubbed the reddened imprint of her hand on his cheek.

"Hi Nina. Long time no see?"


	3. Welcome to the Institute of War Part 3

A Summoner's Tale

Welcome to the Institute of War Part 3

 _A few minutes before the incident_

 _-Antonina_

In the cafeteria that she had entered, it was filled with long, stretched tables that held various stylistic food warmers and plates that held appetizers and entrees from the various regions in Valoran. These tables outlined near the walls in the back, closest to where locked doors from this side led to the kitchen where the food was easily made and brought out with easy accessibility. Large circular tables that accommodate parties of ten easily were placed in the middle of the floor while booths and smaller tables were placed next to the sides to the walls for those that wanted a little more privacy.

Sitting around one of the more larger, circular tables was where Antonina was located as she was quietly reading a book in her hands as she partially listened into vibrating notes that ringed off a etwahl, the timed plucks of the strings creating a soft melody around the table. The smooth transition from melody to harmony and back to melody were as fluid as a river as the music flowed through the listener's ears before ending with quiet silence.

Around the round table, the rousing sound of hands clapping together in simultaneous fashion grew to join a wave of applause, a mix of pure excitement of having listened to the riveting music while others had held their emotions in a more conservative manner. Chatter began to spring up again as encouraging comments and thanks flew towards the musician who played the music.

"Sona! That was awesome!" Lux exclaimed excitedly, practically bouncing out of her seat as she gave the blue-haired musician a warm-hearted but tightly gripped hug. Sona spoke in 'tones', using her hands, using the etwahl to create different tones to voice her opinion on different things. This had made her 'mute' in the eyes of doctors as she was unable to physically speak although it didn't stop her from giving a small squeak from being so tightly held.

"Lux! There is no need to squeeze the air out of Sona." Garen chided, his arms crossed as he pried the hug apart. Lux crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks out as she gave an angry pout and a glare as those observing gave stiff giggles at the interaction.

"You two are always bickering." Jarvan, a man who always wore distinct yellow armor said as he shook his head. The comment was responded with the brother and sister seemingly glaring at each other while bickering at each other under their breaths. Being slightly amused, Jarvan had turned to the others to turn the conversation in another direction.

"Lee-Sin. How was your Qualification Tests?" The blind monk turned to the voice of Jarvan. His head had been resting on his hands lazily as he listened but being asked had reinvigorated him to join back into the conversation.

"Very busy. We had many who tried to become Summoners and I was even challenge a few times." He answered, remembering the fights had brought a tone of excitement as he began to explain in detail about his challenges and challengers. Lux, breaking off from the bickering with her brother, gave an exasperated sigh as she leaned into the conversation.

"Lucky! Mine was so boring having Founder Gloom." The harsh scratchy noise of strings bought Antonina out of her book as most cringed at the noise. This also came with a disapproving glare from Sona as she quickly played a few different tones in rapid succession.

"Lux! Don't say that about the Founders." Her voice sounded of very light and uplifting tones that was soothing as a peaceful river. However, her voice also held harsh tones that emphasized each word. The harshness of Sona's voice made Lux jump out of her seat with surprise, a small blush of red covered her cheeks as she dipped into her seat in embarrassment.

"Sorry Sona... I didn't mean..." Lux trailed off, unable to finish her statement. Antonina stopped her reading, placing a hand on Lux's shoulder as she gave her a reassuring pat.

"It's alright Lux. We know that you didn't mean any harm but you need to remember other's circumstances like Sona. She did go through the same name-calling." Antonina said, her voice turning one of mitigation and reason. She gave a small smile, her hand still gently patting Lux's shoulder as she tried to move the conversation.

"So, who was this interesting candidate of yours? Founder Silverman was quite tight-lipped about the details."

"We weren't given much information either but this Yin fellow is quite an extraordinary fighter. Might even give Lee a run for his money." Garen added casually, unable to see the small hitch in Antonina's breathing.

"Really? How so?" Lee asked with great interest. Garen gave a small laugh, his fingers drumming the table as he laid back in his seat.

"His fighting technique is... unique. Speed and position is his main traits but he always fought as if he aimed to deter." Garen quoted, scratching his chin as he remembered the fight.

"Isn't that the point of those fighting trials. To make your opponent submit?" Jarvan asked.

"No." The definite answer of Garen was paused as he mulled over his answer. " I mean... when you fight, you are aiming to win. But the man chose a fighting style that resulted that no one, in a practical fight, wins."

"By practical, you mean the winner is the one who lives and the loser is the one who dies?" Jarvan piped in which was answered with Garen's nod of agreement.

"He fights using a mixture of flash spells and teleport runes, correct?" Antonina interrupted, the fighting mantra was too close of a coincidence for the person she was thinking about.

"I believe so. The Founder was quite impress with his use to meld different spells to make it more efficient." Garen answered.

"Did you get a glance at him? One eye had three distinct marks that ran across, right? Did that eye also glow red?" She fired question after question as they came one after another as Garen held a confused look as he attempted to remember as quickly as the questions came forward.

"Do you know this Yin?" Lee asked, thankfully saving Garen from the barrage of questions. The air suddenly turned solemnly cold as she did her best to mask her rising feelings.

"N-N-No... Maybe. It's just this person had caught my attent-"

"I'm going to fucking beat your ass!" The loud, abrasive comment had caught a crowd as Antonina looked towards the commotion. Champions seemed to ignore the commotion as they passed along but Summoners were beginning to form a ring around what seemed to be going as she gave a heavy sigh.

"Looks like you are being called to a task." Sona implied softly. Antonina was part of the Security Council, the 'first line' when it came to dealing with conflicts. She was only accepted a few months ago and had been easing herself into this position of somewhat power. Her attainment of becoming a Master Rank Summoner had also helped her get the position. However, she had found that she was mostly dealing with the very petty of issues. Name-calling and insults towards personality were usual suspects that lead to most of these fights.

She looked over at Garen and back at the crowd again as she took one last sigh. "I'll be right back. I like to know more about this Yin."

She walked off, a part of her mind had already assumed that this Yin was the same person that had left her 4 years ago. She didn't even have a physical description and she was already assuming that this was the same Yin she knew. Making her way through the crowd was easy as they displaced to the side as if she was surrounded by an aura that pushed people away. Making her way to the middle of the commotion, she put her best cold mask as she said the next few words as icily as she could.

"What is going on here?" Two faces turned, the first was a man who she had reprimanded before called Terence. A silver league who thought to highly of himself and was settled with scores of arrogance and over-confidence. The other was...

 _No way..._ She thought, she couldn't believe it. The messy brown hair, the signature look of his scratched eye with the three clear marks, and his brown eyes were all to similar. She couldn't even form words as hushed whispers filled the silence. She couldn't even remember what she said or what she did because there was only one thing she really wanted to do.

 _ **S L A P!**_

 _Present time_

 _-Yin_

The burning sensation of well-placed smack on the cheek had Yin reeling in pain as he gritted his teeth to save some sort of dignity. _That is one hell of a backend._ The girl in front of him held a familiar beauty which he was looked at with pent up scorn. Her fiery, red hair somewhat hid the anger in her blue eyes while her lips frowned downwards with the freckles on her cheeks. He had been fully slapped in the face and yet, Yin couldn't help but give a small chuckle as he rubbed his bruised cheek.

"Hi Nina. Long time no see." Her cheeks immediately puffed, hot air venting out of her mouth as she stepped back and swung an accusing finger at him. She looked like she was trying to sort out her emotions but her steely facade was enough to convince anyone who didn't know her that she was on a rampant rampage.

"W-Why are you here?" she accusingly asked, that soft moment of hesitation, clearly masked over the clear anger towards Yin. All he could do was sigh internally, knowing full well this anger was well deserved. He promised a lot of things to different people and ended up running away from the very responsibility of it all.

"To become a Summoner, just like you."

"Bullshit!" The response sounded so natural and instinctive that it was like she was already planning to say that no matter what he answered with. Yin couldn't help but let a sigh escape his lips as he tried his hardest to not look away at the glaring eyes of Antonina.

"Why are you here?" She asked again, this time adding a ferocious barrage of poking his chest as he swatted her hand away gently.

"I told you my reason, to become a summoner..." He tried stubbornly with no avail as she gave a heavy sigh in exasperation.

" You would have kept your promise if that is your reason!" She said, her anger starting to pent up again as her fists began to become whiter with how hard she was clenching her hands.

"Nina... It's a lot more complicated than-" **K!** Another slap with twice the amount of force than the first one slammed home into Yin, forcing him to actually take a step backwards to maintain his balance.

 _Note: She really knows how to give a good swing when she's upset._ He thought as he watched her puff her chest in and out in an furious but controlled manner. He should have yelled in pain, his cheek was screaming but it felt like he deserved more than just this.

"Stop calling me that. I'm not some naive , impressionable teenager. Why can't you tell me why you left? Why do you shell up like this?" She pleaded. It was remarkable how well she was still able to keep her voice composed. Her face gleamed with anger but within her eyes, she had a cloud of bitterness and sadness?

"Nina..." As he began his sentence, he finally caught himself as if a light had dawned on him like the morning sun. His responses were like recycled ash and he realized that he was trying to spout anything out to appease her. Which made him feel more guilty when he watched her face contort from anger to sadness as he wasn't able to give a proper response. However, his mouth moved on its own, a habitual habit he had created as an automatic response to anyone that wanted to get any closer to knowing him.

"You wouldn't understand..." He muttered, stopping himself consciously halfway during his sentence but he had said it loudly enough for the damage to crack Antonina's facade. Eyes turned soft as her breathing become erratic as she ran past him, shoving him out of the way.

"Why did you have to come back?" It was a comment to attempt to assess how she was feeling as she ran past Yin but it took a heavy blow to Yin as he was left speechless, standing alone in the middle of the corridor. Champions that had looked over to the conversation now looked even more perplexed at the interaction, some even had faces of curiosity as the conversation unfolded only to quickly end. Lux seemed to be the first to react, picking her feet to chase after Antonina.

"Summoner! Wait!" She tried to shout as she turned the corner. Garen seemed to also shout something at Lux as he also gave chase after his sister. It would have seem that Antonina had found some friends being here. The last time he saw her was when she had just been accepted as a Summoner at the Institute of War and that gave Yin some little hope that they would be a much better support than he could ever give.

He took a sigh out, turning to feel the revolving round of stares which had the pressure as if he was being put on a X-Heimer Machine. Merely shaking his head, he ignored the stares as he made his way to one of the many food tables, this one having a vast array of fruit bowls. His hand reached for the first thing he could grab, grabbing a small, roundish fruit with a mixture of purple and blue as the color. His right eye quickly glowed for a moment, scanning to find the name the fruit called 'Coldarra' which seemed to be delicacy grown in Ionia. He took a large, hearty bite, his teeth sinking into the fruit with a loud crunch as his palate felt the burst of a mixed flavour of sweet and sour. Yet, he felt someone was still staring at him with curious intent as he swallowed the fruit.

"Are you going to simply stand there?" Yin asked, his eyes still kept on the fruit as he took another bite.

"Didn't know you like Coldarra Fruit?" The monkey humanoid asked as he twirled with his staff behind his back. Yin gave a small shrug.

"Neither did I." His lack of emotion made the monkey fold his arms together as he leaned back on his staff. Yin watched as the staff perfectly balanced the monkey's weight as he scratched his head.

"Maaan. You are a total bummer to scare you know?" Yin's eyes were still on the staff as he began to unconsciously scan the weapon. When he realized he was starring, he averted his attention back to food, grabbing a random sandwich from the table. Apparently, it was labeled to have pulled pork in it.

"Apologies for looking at your staff. One of a kind called Ruyi Bang?" The monkey gave a sound of appreciation as he clapped his hands.

"Oooo. That is pretty good. Is that what your eye does when it glows that scary red colour?" Yin had disregarded the question as he started to munch on his sandwich. He was internally cursing himself for being so careless but he had to look like the question didn't affect him.

"What a personal question. And you yet to introduce yourself? Will you be asking for my hand in marriage too?" Yin questions back sarcastically as the monkey couldn't contain his laughter as he balled on the ground. However, he was able to maintain his composure as he flipped back onto his feet as he gave a very exaggerated bow as if he was meeting some Demacian Noble.

"My apologies." He said, taking a quick gasp for air as his laughter calmed down. "My name is Sun Wukong but I prefer to be called Wu for short." He said gracefully as he stood back up. He extended an arm in greetings as Yin took Wukong's hand in a firm grip. "Ha! You even have a grip of a martial artist."

"Ehh. I wouldn't call it martial arts more as it is more 'dirty' fighting" Yin said as Wu gave him a hearty slap on the back.

"My friend! There are no rules when you fight so nothing is ever dirty. But come! Have a seat and join me in eating these wonderful Ionian peaches!" Wukong said playfully as he scooped up a bowl of the so-called peaches. The peaches held a distinct mixed colour of red and orange as he jumped towards a seat on a table that could easily fit 10 people. Yin made his way with a much more constrained pace as he quietly finished his sandwich before taking a seat as he watched Wukong munch on his first peach.

"Sho! Vat's our ame?" Yin gave a confused look as he couldn't understand a word Wukong said. Attempting to talk with a mouthful of peaches didn't help the Monkey as he gave an exasperated gulp before gasping for air. He stuck his tongue out in a satisfied sigh as he cleared his throat. "Never told me your name."

 _Ahhh._ "Name is Yin. Or as you can tell from that.. conversation." Yin paused, a soft bitter taste sat on his lips as Wukong ate his peach in seemingly ignorant peace.

"Ah! Never seen Summoner Antonina act like that before. Was she a past lover or something? Or maybe you two were close friends. Like those cliche childhood friends that known each other from a very young age. I know! Maybe your glowing eye is the reason you are together. Daughter of an Scientist!" Yin's face immediately turned sour at Wukong's seemingly childish act. He wasn't right about the occasion but his assessment was deadly close to the reality of how close he used to be with Antonina.

 _Calm thoughts._ He repeated in silence as he reapplied his calm steel. "Oooo. You know! That's the kind of face Yi gave me when I first met him." A sudden gust of wind blew past the talking monkey as a sudden appearance. Relaxing on his hip was a brilliant green katana with seven different green lenses that overlapped the placement of the man's eyes. An immediate look would be the well-known and recognized 'Seven Lenses of Insight' which is what made and created Master Yi's fighting reputation in Wuju Style.

"What exactly are you talking about me my friend?" The voice held that calm you would find when listening to a meditation teacher but also had a friendly resonance that pulled you into wanting to talk. Yi had casually leaned back in his seat as he placed his head on his hands which rested on the table.

"Speak of the Soul Collector. How long have you been here?" Wukong said happily, giving Yi a hearty slap on the back as he passed one of his peaches from his claimed bowl to Yi. Catching it with ease, he put the peach down as he pointed toward where Yin was speaking.

"Let's not be so rude and introduce your new acquaintance here."

"Aaah, I only know his name... Yin right?" Wukong took a bite out of his fourth peach as he glanced over to Yin which he nodded in response.

"A pleasure to meet the most well-known swordsman. It is an honor." Yin professed, his voice seemed to ease out any anger or frustration from the earlier comments as he stood up to shake Yi's hand. Yi took the man's hand and gripped for a firm handshake with ease as both sat back down.

"You must be very new here then Summoner Yin."

"Hm? How do you know that I am new and not just an unknown." Yi gave out a small chuckle as he flicked a thumb in which he pointed to the monkey sitting beside him. Wukong was seemingly inspecting the peaches now, apparently eyeing to the shape and texture of the peach.

"You would have been accustomed to his brash behaviour." Hey! was argued by Wukong but he didn't seem to give too much thought into it as he carried on with his inspections. "I will apologize as a friend that he can sometimes get... under your skin I believe is the term."

Yin gave a dismissive wave in the air as if he was brushing away the comment. "No worries. He is still quite insightful amidst his animosity." Yi seemed to give an agreeing nod as he took a bite out of his peach.

 _Something is off though._ Yin thought, a quick glance saw that champions were still going on and about their daily business but he could feel as if a few of them had been watching him from the very beginning and haven't stopped since. _They seem to want to come and talk but it's as if there is a barrier between them and I._

He turned back to Yi who was still eating his peach, seemingly taking his time with each bite compared to Wukong who was more or less shoving down the peaches like candy. "Say, why is it that you are the one who wants to talk to me? If you don't mind." The last part was more out of respect for the swordsman than anything. His question was brash and Yin knew it but it was bugging him that only one had come up to him so far.

"You wonder why I come and talk to you because of all the stares that have compiled against you?" _These people are professional mind-readers at times._ Yin thought. He merely nodded in agreement, keeping the thoughts to himself as Yi put the core of the peach on the table.

"Curiosity."

 _Curiosity...Wait. He really doesn't mean._ "Define what you mean by curiosity?" Yin asked, his guard was now kicking in. The man in front of him was a definite master and he was already at a disadvantage in a combat sense. It didn't help that how he was wording his answer was also rubbing Yin off the wrong way.

"Wukong rarely engages with other people, let along summoners, unless it is on the Rift or if you are a victim to his prank." Yi stated matter-of-factly. The answer seemed to be suffice but Yin held his expression that he needed more than just friendly assurance.

"That is a terrible reason." Yin had now faded back to his jaded, calm steel of a stare as Wukong had stopped eating his peach as he quickly pointed at Yin.

"See what I mean? That's the sort of angry I saw from Yi when I first met him."

The comment seemed well placed in the sense that Yi was starting to find himself more of a war of words against the unknown Summoner. Both were probing each other's verbal defense as they skirmished for the better last word.

"Hm? Then I can ensure you that makes it more rare for Wukong to interact with newer people."

"Does it now? Is that your only reason being that I was talked to by one champion albeit your friend?" It was clear that both were easily friends with each other and it wasn't hard to see how much of a foil they were. With yin-yang personalities, it was hard from the outside to see how a relationship could be forged but that it was what happens when you judge a book by its cover.

"I have my own personal reasons but that is the main reason?" Yi said back.

"Or is it that the main reason is to mask your own personal reasons?" Yin answered in return. Both were making no ground in their little verbal war but something that caught their attention was the sudden marching footsteps of 5 men. The casual atmosphere returned back to the one filled with tension as these 5 men walked towards Yin's table. In front walked an imposing man dawning a shield on each shoulder as his robes shined a brilliant mix of turquoise and diamond. The four others dawned the same insignia on each shoulder but wore a color of gleaming diamond.

"Summoner Yin?" The deep brassy voice stimulated a feint of familiarity. Yin stood from his seat as the name rolled to the tip of his tongue as he connected the voice with the name.

"Grand Summoner Kei, I presume?" As the man nodded, Yin stepped away from the table. Yin was a good metre away from the Grand Summoner as they both stood opposite of each other. "Do what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You are to follow us to the Lobby before Summoner's Rift for your placement exams."

 _Damn, time flew that fast already._ "Really? I didn't know Zilean had the controls to time." A piping comment of "He actually does" came from Wukong but he was largely ignored as the Grand Summoner continued.

"If you don't mind, I believe we have less than an hour and I am needing to get all newcomers to the Lobby as soon as possible."

"Oooo. Can I come watch? I want to see this guy fight!" Wukong said excitingly as he scrambled onto the table as he leaned forward into the conversation.

"You are allowed to spectate if you so choose." Kei answered simply as he turned to Yin.

"One question Grand Summoner." Kei silently nodded as he gave his attention to Yin.

"Why do you have four members of the Security Council with you?" If it wasn't for the hood, his face turned into displeasure at the question. "Please, don't get me wrong and all. You are a Grand Summoner and the leading member in the Council of Justice would be more than enough to escort me. I doubt you need four other people coat tailing you like a group of ducklings."

The silence was filled, similar to those that have been caught in a situation that answering or not answering would lead to an awkward outcome. The 4 other members to Kei's side shifted uncomfortably as they shifted their positions forward in a more guarding position in front of Kei. Kei let out a soft sigh, a mutter soft enough that Yin was able to catch as he thought of his answer.

"After your little accident with a Summoner Terrance, the Founders are merely making sure that another incident doesn't occur."

 _Count on that on being my answer. First day here and I'm already getting on different people's shit list. Talk about bad luck._ Yin thought as he shrugged his shoulders in a carefree manner. "Well, take me to your masta!" Yin said as he walked forward, suddenly being flanked like a highly guarded prisoner in a top-notch prison. He sighed to himself as he shook his head in disbelief. All he could do was walk and let them show him the way to the Lobby.

 _15 minutes before the placement 'matches'_

 _-Yin_

 _What a time to forget._ Yin sighed as he sat in his corner that he was able to stem out for himself in the crowded lobby room that sat 9 other candidates. He had right now placed himself into a think tank, letting his mind rumble in the details of his memories as he sat in silence. That didn't stop him from grumbling in annoyance at himself for forgetting to look up what the placement matches meant, even if he had a good enough reason of getting lost on his little adventure around the institute.

He already knew he was at a disadvantage compared to the rest of his group. Before the accident with Antonina's father, he had always wanted to be a Summoner at the League of Legends and he had been out of practice for at least four years. Excluding himself, Yin knew that compared to this group who more or less knew what was expected and had trained for the placement matches, he was going to have a hard time keeping up with them.

Placement matches were used to test a Summoner's skill on the Rift and to give them an initial ranking in the League of Legends System. The higher you placed in the beginning, not only was it easier to climb the system, but recognition and reputation was a hot commodity. Make it high in the placement, you can start to easily build a network to help climb the system faster and more efficiently.

Placement matches skilled you on three things. First off, the usage of a champion's ability. This was something of an unknown to Yin as he had no clue what to expect nor did he have the resources to tell him what it was. The second was apparently exhibition of usage of the Summoner's spells. More similarly, it appeared to be parallel with how the Qualification Tests had its practical exam but now in a restrictive manner which would be applied to your champion in certain situation. The last was exhibition sparring matches in a place called the Howling Abyss. All Yin knew was that it was to show and exemplify a Summoner's fighting prowess and fighting style with the champion that they are paired with.

 _Man... It would have been easier if they had only forty champions like they had when they started and not exploded to an insane champion pool of a hundred and twenty six._ Yin thought in turmoil. Even with his eye, he wasn't able to cram all the information of each champion in under an hour. He was good at glossing over but he wasn't a genius at it. He also wanted to take time and process each champion to know their strengths, weakness and strategies which was something that he didn't have the time for.

"Isn't that the new guy?" "I heard he was escorted by Founder Silverman himself." "Didn't you hear that he even challenged the Founder?" "Apparently he was able to beat a platinum Summoner." "He doesn't look strong." Were some of the comments that floated around the room and Yin knew that the uncertainty was well placed. He wished he could bite back with something clever but all he had shown was zealous self-confidence in his abilities.

"Summoners." The room went silent as Kei's baritone voice rang through the Lobby. All activity ceased as all eyes looked at the Grand Summoner who was now standing in the door way.

"Please give a welcome to the champions you will be getting to work with today." As he moved to the side, a small group of champions roamed into the Lobby as Summoners and Champions stood face to face.

"For most of you, these champions you will know but for those that have been out of the loop..." _I swear that was intentionally made just for me_. "The champions you will be potentially working with are Ashe, Nami, Fizz, Irelia, Draven, Diana, Jarvan the Fourth, Wukong, Tristana and Karma."

"Ooooh. Look at this, it looks like I might get a front-row ticket to see you now!" Wukong exclaimed, pointing at Yin.

"You may need to contain your excitement Wukong till after we assign you to your Summoner." Said the Grand Summoner with a tone that left no room for argument as Wukong gave a small grumble. The Grand Summoner flipped his hood off, his tanned skin scarred with defining scratches on his cheeks and forehead as he looked at the group of new Summoners with yellow eyes. His face shaped in more of an oval and a square mixed together, clearly showing muscles near the neck, chin, and jaw line as he gave a small smirk.

"Then let's begin." He pulled out a small rolled parchment as he began to roll it out."

 _It seems champions have already been decided for us._ Yin thought as Kei cleared his throat.

"In this list, will be your assigned partner for which we have deemed that you and your Champion will work best together. Yin. Please step up."

He wasn't sure if he was nervous or excited but he could feel the butterflies in his stomach as he stepped forward. He did his best to keep his calm, steel of a gaze as he stood in silence as his answer that Kei had been heard. The Grand Summoner merely looked over at him, the small smirk still plastered on his face as he looked back at the parchment.

"Your partner shall be..."


	4. Welcome to the Institute of War Part 4

A Summoner's Tale

Welcome to the Institute of War Part 4

 _On Summoner's Rift_

 _-Yin_

To say that being on the Summoner's Rift didn't bring a sense of nostalgia meant that the person saying so was definitely lying. Not only was the scenery alluring and eye-blowing beautiful, but it felt as if he had made it to a priceless destination where it was rarely touched by the outside world. By itself, the atmosphere felt as if he had discovered an ancient, lost civilization in the Kumungu Jungles with the architecture well-preserved.

Trees were well maintained with the cleanest river that Yin had ever seen. The water that ran from the stream glistened in its purity as the natural quiet soothed any sort of nerves. For anybody's first time, this looked like paradise that anyone would dream. Then again, Yin wasn't here to admire the view.

"Gotta tell ya. Ain't as pretty as Draven is." Draven commented. A man with two axes the size that spanned the length of his body with a flamboyant costume that made him looked like he was on one of the new shows that you would see in Piltover stretched his muscles by rolling his shoulders as he walked off the platform. Yin couldn't help but shake his head as he re-focused his attention onto the Summoner's orb.

For Yin, it wasn't that he was on the Fields of Justice but rather that he was seeing it through the eyes of his Champion. The Summoner's orb was quite literally a remote control over the Champion. You could connect with the Champion to physically manipulate the way to move and to attack. You could also use spells, limited by two apparently, to help your champion secure kills or their lives in some cases.

It would be safe to say that it was the best option for Summoners to use as it gave them free reign of how and what to do. With also have an omnipresent view of the Rift from other teammates on the map plus having the connection to communicate, it would give the Summoner the best chance to exploit such an option. However, the problem was that controlling a Champion was wiring yourself up to their body. If they felt pain, you felt pain. They got set on fire, you would feel like you got set on fire. The lists goes on and on.

This also came that you would have two minds controlling over one body. With the Summoner's orb, the process to connecting onto the Rift was that you were needed to connect mentally to your Champion. It was to synchronize harmony with the Summoner through the Champion. Your thoughts could be heard as much as their thoughts could be heard. That is how Summoners 'connected' into the League. It was also the only way to communicate with your champion, being impossible to talk to other champions unless speaking through the champion that you are using.

Problem with mental connections is that if the Champion doesn't wish to be connected or if there seemed to be a disarray between Summoner and Champion. If they are unable to synchronize, then they won't be able to connect. Even if they did connect, if the two minds disagree constantly or do not trust each other, it raises the liability and vulnerability of the Champion getting killed. Summoners feeling what the Champion felt and vice-versa could and would fuel the fire especially when it came to opposing personalities.

"It's quite a sight. And I'm not sexual orientated towards egotistical psychopaths. Sorry Draven." Yin replied, bringing back his focus onto the Rift.

Draven gave a maniacal laugh as he pulled his axes over his shoulder, swirling them at a frightening speed. Tossing them into the air next, he caught them with ease as he transitioned back to the whirling of his axes. "Daily Warm-up" Draven called it to ensure his muscles were well primed to throw perfectly.

"Ya know how Draven knows you got balls." Draven stated. Apparently, the slang of the Summoners rubbed off easily onto Draven.

"Most Summoners can't stand the best standards of Draven. They would taken the Grand Summoner's option since no Summoner is good enough for Draven." Draven posed, attempting to show his flamboyant costume as he posed into the air like a rock-star at a filled-out concert.

When the pairings were finally called and set up, there was an atmosphere of mixed feelings between the Summoners that were being ranked. A few seemed overjoyed about their picks while others had this face that they had already been defeated. It was as if they were assessing how well they were going to do just by who their Champion was. With his limited time at the Library, one of the most influential aspects of how much a Champion could be chosen was based on their difficulty rating. The rating was assessed by both the skills to use the Champion's abilities (i.e. skill-shots) and how easily it was for the Summoner to synchronize with the Champion. Since mental synchrony had a big effect on performance, the harder it was to synchronize with the Champion, the harder time it would be for the Summoner to play as the Champion.

When Grand Summoner Kei explained such that an option was available for those that would like to decline their placement exams and to be automatically passed and relegated to the 'Unranked' Wing with no questions asked, it sounded to Yin as a stupid idea to waste such an opportunity. Yet, for the Summoner who had been paired with Diana, who outright refused to work with her due to her 'Lone-wolf personality' which Yin thought was a terrible excuse. It was when he read up that Diana had one of the lowest pick rates even though her skill cap was low and had a pretty decent win rate. One way for new Summoners to find the 'best' Champion was to look at the comments given from other Summoners who have played with the Champion. Apparently, her comments seemed to have deemed her reputation of having a 'lone-wolf' personality which wasn't good in a match where teamwork was key.

"Why does no one seem to want to work with Diana?" Draven only shrugged his shoulders as he stowed away his axes, finished with his daily warm-up.

"She doesn't have the stunning and charismatic personality of Draven."

"I doubt she endorses herself as a narcissist who needs a wave of constant blowjob worshipping from adoring fans." Draven seemed unfazed by Yin's comments as he threw his hair back, laughing profusely.

"You definitely don't hold back Summoner. You actually might hurt my feelings... Not!" Draven joked as he shook his head. His smile was still that same wolfish grin but Yin could feel a small amount of seriousness flow over for a brief moment as he cleared his throat.

"Don't get me wrong, Diana is a tough doll. Rough around the edges kind of type who doesn't take any sort of mediocrity like Draven. Hell, she could compete with Draven as being so abrasive that it scares Summoners, especially the noobs like you."

That surprised Yin. For something with an ego as inflated as if he was some god, he was able to still able to be serious and insightful at the same time. It must have been a hell of a rare occurrence that could have made Yin quite a few bucks as Draven clicked his fingers.

"Only time you'll see it so don't get so mushy mushy now. Besides, I'm just as curious as most of us are about you. Sneaky and mysterious and all that jazz."

"Draven curious about me? Will you be building a shrine dedicated to me next?"

"Ha! You wish cocksucker! You wouldn't even look as great as Draven in a wooden frame anyways."

 _ **Summoners! Make your way to the middle lane for the first exam.**_ The announcement was loud, ominous and was able to do its job by breaking and quieting all the conversations. The tone sounded feminine but it felt it could knock you over with the amount of power that it drew with each statement. For all, excluding Diana who looked like she didn't care about being restricted to the platform, made their way to the middle lane.

 _ **Your first task is to show us your ability to use a champion effectively in the form of basic farming. No buying of items are allowed during this test. 10 waves with 7 minions will need to be cleared in a decreasing certain time frames.**_ The announcer stated, a quick flash of light appearing in the lane as a floating parchment formed and sat in the middle of the lane.

 _ **Here are the list of names in the order. Summoner Jacobi will be first...**_ The announcer continued as Yin looked at the parchment. In big, bolden letters sat the names of each Summoner-to-be, finding his name to be last on the list.

 _Well, well. Lucky me. Looks like I get to scope the competition._ Yin thought.

"Maaaan. Why we gotta be last. They'll be the ones setting the bar and I don't think I'll actually be challenge then." Draven complained, sounding like an impatient child as he continued his complaints on how easy it was going to beat. The other champions didn't seem to not mind or care about Draven's complaining as they watched the first champion, a mermaid named Nami go up first. By the way her face contorted in-between nervousness and annoyance, Yin had to conclude that she was getting one hell of a rant. It also helped that the Summoner also was in the group that looked like the world had ended with his hasty conclusion.

 _ **The first wave will spawn in;**_

 _ **3...**_

 _ **2...**_

 _ **1...**_

 _ **Minions have spawned.**_

The announcer exclaimed. Marching past Draven's ongoing rant, Yin watched as 7 hooded minions, each either holding a combination of a crude stone club and shield, a wand and one was apparently riding a two-wheeled cart that held a cannon at the front. Yin watched as opposing side minions began to clashed... More put, ran into each other as they began to attack each other like drones. The Champion seemed to sit in the middle, watching as the minions beat each other.

Nami began to move her staff, forming jets of water that moved at blinding speed as she moved with precision as she began to take down the opposing minions. In the air high above, ran a clock that had started to tick down from 60 seconds. Watching as Nami took down her first minion, a comical explosion of gold gushed out of the minion's body before suddenly disappearing.

"Draven. What's with the gold coins?" Yin had asked during a time where Draven was trying to see which arm contained more muscle and the comment had thrown his concentration.

"Tsk. Had to pair with a really big noob. You better not bring me down. Destroying minions is how you get money. Get money, shop at store to get more items, able to kill things faster." Draven said simply and quickly as he went back to checking his arms. Yin popped up money bag icon, one of the perks of controlling the Summoner's orb was the use of an easy-to-use menu. The icon led him to a menu where a wide variety of items laid, each holding a different valued price for each item with upgraded stats.

"Ah, no wonder we don't use items here." It was when Yin had a sudden epiphany. He was coming in on a exam where he didn't know anything or knew very little. This was especially the case with knowing what his Champion's role was or what he did. If he was going to be needing to show effective farming, he was going to need details of what his Champion could do. But how can he make it interesting to coerce Draven... Eyes landed around his surroundings as an idea dawned on Yin.

"Say Draven." Draven merely gave him a grunt of attention as he constantly inspected his arms. "Want to do something interesting while we wait for our turn?" That had caught Draven's attention, his eyes immediately stopping his inspection as he brought his arms down.

"Heh. Depends on what you define as interesting but intrigue Draven." Draven said as Yin began to talk about his impromptu plan.

 _Outside Summoner's Rift. In the Rift Spectator Lounge_ _#_ _2._

 _-Narrated_

Lobbies and lounges were set up to hold a venue of spectators for those that were wanting to watch ongoing matches. It was quite a new thing that had been implemented only a year ago by the Institute of War to allow more access for Champions and Summoners to watch such matches. Such matches were to allow a newer audience to watch the more veteran Summoners play in order to look at their play to help improve on their own.

For placement exams, spectator turn-out was usually dependant on how many Summoners were interested on scoping out who to look out for from the newly-ranked when they join the ranking system. Within this certain lounge was a half-filled lobby mostly filled by Champions and a few Summoners who were interested. Just like in the cafeteria, the lobby was filled with conglomerates formed around a Champion's or Summoner's loyalty to a nation as they watched a the large theatre-esque screen. Seating was lined in neat rows like a theatre as they watched the first placement match.

The first placement match was on its seventh Summoner, each other Summoner before hand was averaging around 50 minions in 10 waves. You had your couple of outliers but they only ranged with a +/- of 6 minions above or below the average baseline. For the seventh Summoner, he was on his final two waves with a score line of 34 minions so far. For Antonina, she was here, against her will to not wanting to, sitting with her sister as they watched the placement exams.

"Can you remind me again why it was necessary for me to be here... Charlotte?" Antonina turned, looking at her sister. Her sister had exactly the same features as Antonina. Fiery, red hair with blue eyes with the same 'curvy' body build that should come with a label of jail-bait. She had the admission of having no freckles but even only being four years younger than Antonina, being 21 years old, yet sometimes she could really pull the old woman inside here.

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?" The abdication of speaking only made Charlotte roll her eyes as she began to, in an over-the-top-fashion, spell out each word.

"K...Y...L...E..." Charlotte said slowly, emphasizing each letter as a sigh escaped her lips as she tussled her hair back. Most people would refer to Yin to his nickname, but her younger sister was the only exception where she had insisted to call him by his first name until he had relented and allowed her to do as she pleased. Out of the two, she was the one that seemed less effected and more happy about hearing about Yin in the Institute, a big foil in comparison to her reaction.

"And you insisted that wasn't the actual reason when I asked you... five times." Charlotte only stuck her tongue out in response as Antonina slumped back into her chair. She knew she had coerced herself into this situation and now she was paying the price. For a diamond-rank Summoner to make a master-rank Summoner follow them was a rarity only to be seen with how the sisters interacted with each other. Her grumpiness was noted as Charlotte poked her shoulder.

"What?" She asked, irritated as she turned to face Charlotte only to find her with folded arms and a disapproving glare.

"Are you still going to hold onto that?" Antonina folded her arms as she sat back deeper into her chair.

"What do you mean?" Charlotte pointed at the screen, her finger clearly directing her attention towards Yin's name.

"You know exactly what I mean." Her tone turned serious, their conversation could only be heard if someone was nosy and foolish enough to come with ear's distance of hearing whispers. But for Antonina, she couldn't help but give a little hmph!

"Don't hmph! me." Charlotte snapped, snapping her fingers in Antonina's face as she gave a smug smile. "Besides, you just won't admit you are a tad bit interested on knowing how well our adopted older brother is going to do." She finished, tapping her temple with her finger as she gave a confident smile.

"You have such a brother complex to a person that isn't even related to you." Antonina replied, a smile creped onto her face as she watch Charlotte's face brighten to a light red. Her undeniable wealth of care towards her friends and family was a feat considering the environment the Institute can sometimes be. She seemed to merely hide her face as she palmed her hands over her eyes.

"It's not a brother's complex..." She mumbled in her hands as she suddenly shot up from her hands, an angry expression on her face as she glared at Antonina, giving her a hard poke in the ribs which made her jump out of her seat in pain.

"Ow! What was that for." Antonina hissed as she quickly slapped Charlotte's poking hand away.

"Don't just say I was the only with a crush on Kyle. I remembered a time where you-" An immediate hand placed over Charlotte's mouth as Antonina boiled a deep red within her cheeks.

"Don't you dare talk about that!" She hissed as she was about to tear her younger sister a new piece. It was when a timely intervention of a blonde girl's head poked through the two stares as she happily jumped into the seat that spaced between Charlotte and Antonina.

"Who has a crush on who!? I wanna know!" Lux asked happily, not noticing the stares of the two sisters as she happily sighed into the comfy cushions of the seat. It was when she opened her eyes that she had noticed the two glaring angrily at her. "Did I miss anything?"

"No!" Both sisters said together vehemently as they turned and looked at opposite directions. Lux could only turn and look in confusion as the two sisters seemingly quieted down. She looked at the screen , seeing that Yin was going to be up in a few minutes as she turned back to look at the two sisters again.

"Are you two close to Yin?" Lux asked, curiosity outweighing her sense of safety as she did sit between the two. The two seemed to cough on something as they looked back at Lux.

"N-No. We were arguing about..." Charlotte started, looking to her sister.

"A-about the placement matches." Antonina finished as the two seemingly stared at each other and gave a nod of approval.

"Rrright..." Lux said skeptically. Footsteps grew louder as Lux turned around as she could hear a few thumps fall into the seats as she saw her brother and Xin Zhao sitting behind her. The two could feel the awkward atmosphere of their timing as the two sisters seemingly did not acknowledge them.

"Don't worry. Girl talk." Lux said, merely waving her hand dismissively as a partial coverage of what Lux could believe was a conversation about him. The two sisters seemed to notice as they could only give a small sigh respectively as they took a couple calming breaths.

"Where's Sona? I thought she was going to come with you guys." Lux asked, hoping to break the pregnant silence that filled the bones with awkward gestures and fidgeting like you would find at a schooler's first dance.

"Oh... She was asked by Akali to help her up in the clinic. Apparently, there was a bit of an incident involving food and short tempers." Xin Zhao explained, folding his arms as he sat his long spear onto several chairs next to him.

"So, are you still O.K. Summoner?" Garen hesitated but it was something that he wanted to know the well-being of since her attitude was extreme to say at least. Charlotte seemed to pick up on it as she gave an innocent look.

"Oooo. I didn't hear this. Do tell." She inquired as Antonina slapped her on the head as firmly as she could. Charlotte let off a little squeal of pain as she rubbed her head furiously in an attempt to calm the pain.

"Later Garen. I don't think my sister is privy to the information." Antonina answered as her sister gave her a pouty glare. Garen could only nod his head as he looked back to the screen. It would seemed that they came at the best time as he watched Draven, Yin's champion step up to the plate.

"He's last?" Garen asked as the two sisters nodded their head. "Wouldn't we be on the second placement match by now?"

"Apparently there was an incident with Fizz and his Summoner. Added on that it sparked when Fizz was talking with Nami and Nami's Summoner, it turned out to be pretty nasty scuffle. Apparently they got into a bit of scrap over something which delayed the further matches."

Antonina remarked, the 'scuffle' was more of verbal insults attacking Nami because 'she is useless at CSing (a term made to farm minions)'. Xin made a brief smile as he scratched his black hair that was tied in a long ponytail.

"Probably gave them a hard time." Xin said. Antonina gave Xin a dirty glance as she peered over her shoulder.

"I just don't understand where this stigma is coming from. All champions that join are powerful in their own respect and not 'useless'." Antonina ranted as she shook her head. She was wanting to keep going but a quick shush from her sister reminded her that she was here to watch the matches and not rant about her experiences about dealing with petty fights. They watched as the blue side of minions, the side in which the Champions had been summoned on to, crashed into the purple side of minions as they began to whittle each other's health down. Draven easily stood out in the middle of lane as he began to whirl one axe and began to work on the minions.

Yet, as Draven whacked away at hitting the minions, there was at no point where he was actually CSing the minions. He was just happily tossing axe after axe as he flamboyantly posed again and again after each toss as if he was on a stage. The first wave ended, clearly showing that Draven had picked up 0 minions yet Draven seemed to be having the time of his life. The second wave happened and Draven went along, whacking away at the minions again. But there was no strategy behind the farming, it was just watching Draven literally show an impressive feat of stamina as he danced around the minions as he threw his axes.

"What is he doing?"

"Doesn't he know he is marked by how well he farms?"

"This is a complete waste of time."

"This is the guy who challenged the Founder?"

Comments flew from the few Summoners that were here to watch. Clearly, rumors had spread enough that had hyped Yin to have some expectations of a good Summoner but he was clearly not showing it. They watched that after three waves of minions, Yin was at a clear 0/21 of minions farmed.

"I thought he was more... experienced." Lux whispered, looking back to her brother who was now engrossed to the screen. But his eyes didn't show disappointment but interest. She went to open her mouth but instead, looked back around as she tried to focus on what was going on. Look at the situation as a whole was something her brother told her.

It was the fourth wave as minions began their clash. Draven began his same old style but Lux squinted with focus as she watched his moves. His movement was indeed flashy and stylistic, but now they were moving with purpose. His foot movement wasn't random but moved in a style that made sure the next attack flowed with the last. His axes flew, hitting the minions but now the axes flew towards where he was moving instead of random directions. Lux watched as 3 minions gushed out with coins, adding to a total score of 3/28. The next wave was the same except this time they were moving much faster. It had its showmanship flare but now each movement was coordinated with the last and future step. A quick step into a twirl into a side flip over an ally minion went Draven as he moved with such fluidity that Lux had never seen. Axes landed and moved in the direction of Draven's movements as he knocked down another 3 minions.

6/35 at the halfway point. Yet Lux felt as if that didn't tell the story, in fact it was like...

"Yin was using the first three rounds to see what Draven would do." Lux finished, muttering out loud.

"Indeed. Most Summoners-to-be would know most or all of the champions at the league at their basic schools. I doubt Kyle had a chance since his application had him down as having no schooling. Which meant that he didn't know the habits of any of the champions." Charlotte continued, clicking her tongue as eyes stayed on the screen.

"He needed to know the battle tactics of his ally and he used the first three waves to allow himself to familiarize with Draven's style. Draven can be a cocky, pompous fool but he can sure step up when he needs to." Garen said, shaking his head for even giving credit to a Noxian.

Lux looked back up at the screen as the next wave came. This time, Draven moved with insane purpose as he suddenly dropped the showmanship attitude as he began to attack the minions. The first minion he hit suddenly exploded with coins as he tumbled to grab the dropping axe as he spun to hurl his second axe in a fluid motion where he was alternating his axes thrown with each hand. Lux watched as Draven hurled the first axe, moved to hurl the second, caught the first axe in the air only to repeat the same process of hurl, move to catch, hurl again.

Each wave was the same, calculated style of movement as he racked up the score from scoring 5,6,7,7,7 in each wave to end with a final score of 38/70. It wasn't an impressive feat at all, only ending barely above passing the halfway mark of the CSing and also being the lowest out of all the champions. It was when a sudden thought passed through Lux's mind.

"Wait... It took him only those 3 waves to understand Draven's play style when it took Summoner Antonina more than 2 weeks to be familiarized with it. How is that possible?" Lux asked. Charlotte seemed to be smiling, her face plastered with 'I know the answer' but her brother seemed to beat her answer to the punch.

"It has to do something with that eye. Am I correct?" Garen asked, turning to look at Charlotte as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Kyle's got this synthetic and robotic eye that gives him some kind of superpower that allows him to know more stuff faster." Charlotte answered happily, her inner child coming out again which was reprimanded with a scolding look from Antonina.

"When we knew Yin, we both tried to ask why his eye glowed red. He never really gave us a straight answer in which he usually told him it helped with able to process information faster but he would always deflect the question." Antonina answered, remembering his year at her estate. The three champions could only looked at each as they turned back to the screen with a question that many were wanting to know.

 _Who is Kyle Yin-Yue?_

 _On Summoner's Rift_

 _-Yin_

Going through the second placement exam was uninteresting at best. Having Draven run, skip and jump over obstacles was nothing new but it came with the added bonus of having to make sure to flash so you didn't run into the incoming debris that was simulated. Either that or to pop a small barrier to let the debris harmlessly fall to the sides. For Draven, it was a piece of cake. A clear walk in the park as he literally anted his showmanship to a degree which was intoxicatingly obnoxious yet hilarious to look out. For Yin, it was more of a fun experience watching a man gloat over dodging a pack of mud or a tree branch as if it's entertainment for you, why complain?

Now, in their third match, they have settled onto the a new map called the Howling Abyss. A bridge-like map where snow was lightly piled on the wall rails of the stone bridge which held a couple of bushes that had snow lightly stuck to them. The last placement exam was taking place here, allowing amble room for Summoners to fight against each other 1v1. For Yin, he was watching Fizz and Wukong duel it out with their respective Summoners having to wait as he had been requested to duel twice. However, it did come with the flexibility that each Summoner was able to choose who they wanted to use in the exhibition matches.

While he waited for his turn, he had the pleasure or displeasure of having to listen to his co-mates? Co-Summoners? rant and rave about how this champion was better, how that champion is weaker, how they could have done better with this champion or telling each other including Yin how they could have played that champion better. It was quite a insignificant petty to stick to the past that Yin was just happy that he made it past the halfway mark in the minion count even after being out for 4 years.

 _Gotta hand it to you kid. For someone that just started, you play as if you been here for a few years._ Draven told Yin, a surprising compliment coming from a man who always addressed himself in the third person.

"I am quite surprised to see him that humble. It's strange, Summoner..." Nami chipped in, the mermaid champion that Yin had requested to use in his first match.

"I told you to call me Yin. Calling me Summoner makes me sound like an uptight hermit that lives in the mountain. No one summons me! I summon them!" Yin explained, ramping his voice to sound like an old person. It was his fifth time trying to convince Nami to call him by his first name. Yet, she insisted on being as polite as she could even after saying it is ok. It was nice to hear her give a small giggle as she tried to cover her mouth with her hands.

"You don't need to hide your smile. No need to act so formal." Yin smiled, teasing her shyness until he realized Nami turn stone white as she suddenly became more self-conscious as she immediately stopped giggling.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you!" It was commendable about how self-aware she was at wanting to be polite around people, even when the same people insult her. Yin could only give a small sigh as he gave his best attempt of a feeling that said that's o.k. to ease Nami. It seemed to calm her down as she took a couple breaths.

"Sum-Yin. Why did you choose me?" Cutting herself off to try to say his name held quite a cute impression on her face, her face contorted in embarrassment from Yin's thought as she bowed her head down. "I'm not that cute..." she mumbled which made Yin laugh.

"I doubt Fizz believes that. And besides, I did say I was going to make a point." Yin answered. Nami's head merely tilted to the side from the comment, seemingly unsatisfied with the answer.

"You don't need me to make your point... Summoner Jacobi does have his points." Nami explained. Yin gave a small scoff to her answer. Nami was truly great at mediating conflicting parties with her very un-bias thinking except it came with the price that she had no backbone when she was thrown into the conflict.

"I highly doubt Fizz would even agree with you being useless." Yin remarked, using the silence to carry the weight of his words. It seemingly started when Yin was watching Nami farm, apparently missing a minion. It was most likely a mistiming with the Summoner since the Summoner has the wealth of the information which included minion HP and such.

That seemingly sparked into listening to Jacobi blame Nami for making such a careless mistake even though they had been doing fine up to then which put more pressure onto her where she was unable to farm with the constant harassment of her Summoner. Unfortunately, Jacobi started to speak to all which caught the attention of her friend, Fizz. That had lead to Fizz joining into the conversation which just added more fuel to the fire until the form of Antonina had to come and literally disarm the anger. It also left Yin with a sour taste in his mouth. Champions were seemingly based on a tier rather than their purpose and style. He was hearing a lot of 'meta picks', picks in the form of how champions fared in the League in the more standard roles. There was very little innovation and people seemed adverse in trying new roles.

When the two were matches, Yin simply stated that he would use Nami which was angrily rebuked by Jacobi. He ranted, saying he didn't want a free win from such a lowly Summoner from him. Considering his CS score and his average performance of just showing the different Summoner's spells, one could assume such a thing from Yin but that is where Yin thrived. Instead, he merely let Jacobi's tirade loose until he finished. Then, he merely said that no matter what Champion he picked, he would always easily beat him. The statement was foolish, arrogant and unnecessary from Yin but he wasn't going to have to listen to Jacobi's constant ranting. It had clearly shut him up which gave Yin some peace but his match was about to start, so his peace was about to end.

 **Summoner Jacobi and Summoner Yin. Please step forward with your champions.** The announcer boomed with a different voice, this one sounding as if it had been on the sea for years. Both brought their respective champions forward as they walked to opposite ends of the bridge. On one end was Nami, clearly nervous as she clutched her staff with a death grip. The other was Diana, her long shining, white hair with a face so calm that it was actually quite frightening to look at.

He could feel the nervousness from Nami creeping into his body. He could feel his stomach began to churn butterflies and it had been a very long time since he had been nervous. His hands were shaking and his body gave a small shiver. And it felt exhilarating.

"How are you so calm?" Nami asked, astounded and completely fooled by Yin's attitude as he gave a laugh.

"I trust my champion. And being nervous means you'll make sure I don't do anything stupid." Yin said confidently as he began to put the two spells that he will be using. A lot seemed to favor mobility with offense. **Flash/Ignite** were a popular combination in 1v1s as it was about who would draw 'first blood'. Yet the matches Yin watched were so linear, clashing into each other like a slugfest and trying to do as much damage as quickly as possible.

"Nami. What do you know about Diana?" It was his first time seeing Diana so he would have to tread with extreme caution.

"Main source of damage is ability power. She hits stronger on every third attack. She also has a spell that moves in a crescent shape, a pull, a shield and a dash. Most Summoners define her as an assassin." Nami listed.

 **Flash/Ignite** was her Summoner's spells. Which meant she was had to be burst damage and Nami was an ideal matchup to play her. With Nami's kit, she had a heal to sustain but she was made to help peel allies, not damage.

"Unless... Nami, I'm going to need you to trust me for the beginning and let me control your body." Yin gave a wolfish smile as he locked his spells in. **Flash/Clarity.** Nami could only give a nod in confusion. Her Summoner's spells had no offense but pure defense. "Trust me" Yin reassured.

"You think that is going to save you?" Jacobi mocked. "This is going to be the easiest match ever." Yet, Yin said nothing which didn't satisfy Jacobi at all as he gave an arrogant scoff. "Whatever, let's get this match over and done with."

 **Summoners! Are you ready?** Both gave their say of confirmation as the announcer began the count-down.

 **The match will begin in...**

 **5...**

 **4...**

 **3...**

 **2...**

 **1...**

 **Begin!**

 _ **Author's Note: Just a quick update. Finale of this Arc will be coming in two weeks time. Exams are here and I like to do well. Actual matchups of Romance Pairings haven't and will be decided at some point but right now I feel like setting the tone is a much better idea than forcing champion-summoner relationships. Hope you enjoy my writing!**_


	5. Welcome to the Institute of War Part 5

A Summoner's Tale

Welcome to the Institute of War Part 5

 _On Summoner's Rift_

 _-Diana_

It was annoying that she had to be here for such petty reasoning. It was annoying that she had been requested to fight even after she was told off by her first Summoner. Why did she have to fight? She was more than happy to watch other Champions wail like idiots at each other but it would do her no good if she constantly refused. She had already tried it several times, each being reprimanded by the Grand Summoner and it didn't help that he had incentivized her with a map of a lunar temple if she started to cooperate. She sighed in frustration as she listened to the countdown.

From what she had seen, her Summoner, named Jacobi she believed, was at least competent from what she watched from the first two exams. On the other hand, the other Summoner, Yin?, did abysmal in the first exam and average on the second. Yet, Draven didn't seem discourage at all, maybe a hint of respect could be seen but it didn't translate that this Yin was a good Summoner. That would mean that this will be a quick fight Diana hoped.

 **3...**

 **2...**

 **1...**

 **Begin!**

Right as the word was spoken, Nami took immediate action. A bubble, quickly conjured, was fired straight at Diana. Instinctively she took a step back but she could feel a pulling force that stopped her.

"It's out of range." Her Summoner said. Even with his tone of arrogance, she quickly re-evaluated and watched as the bubble harmlessly splashed onto the ground in front of them, clearly missing. She could feel her Summoner radiate in confidence as he gave a mocking scoff.

"Clearly new."

Diana didn't say anything, merely moving forward as she felt that same force push her into a sprint. Charging at Nami, she moved her sword, swinging out lunar energy as it shot in a crescent formation at the mermaid. Easily connecting, the power of the moon contacted Nami but undeterred she raised water around herself. Diana rushed forward, slamming with full force into Nami as she swung her sword. Nami responded by streaming water which pushed Diana back as it bounced back to Nami, her wounds from the sword slightly healed. Diana pressed her attack, slashing forward only to feel as if she was slowing down as Nami fired jet after jet.

"Lunar Rush her again to Moonfall into Pale Cascade." Her Summoner commanded, Diana clicked her tongue in annoyance. She was eager to get back into the fight but both were still relatively healthy and forcing a fight would mean Nami would win the trade.

"Nami isn't afflicted by my moonlight so Lunar Rush won't reset." Diana said annoyingly.

"I don't care, I said I would end it quickly and it will end quickly." Jacobi riled back angrily. Again, against her will and her judgment, Diana rushed forward. She focused herself back on the battle, no point in mulling as she slashed into Nami, finally making eye-contact. Her eyes were vastly steeled, an edge of calm that only veterans of combat could achieve as she took in the pain. Regardless, she had started to combination as she clashed her sword into the ground but only felt a splash of water as she was suspended into the air. Diana wailed her feet hopelessly as jets of water harried her body with bruises.

Crashing down, she felt herself flash forwards as she shielded herself from some of the incoming damage. Slashing forward, each slice cutting into Nami as she responded with her own attacks as they continued to trade blows. She felt the first orb explode, contacting Nami in the side as Diana watched her suddenly burst into flames. _Her health must be low enough to kill_ , Diana concluded as she swung with what she believed would be the killing blow of lunar energy. Her Lunar Rush was up so even if Nami flashed, she would be able to rush in for the final damage.

As Diana predicted, Nami flashed, the crescent strike easily missing as Diana surged forward. Closer and closer she got as she prepared her final strike like a lion about to sink its jaws into its prey. Diana watched as she focused down on Nami's position. This was the final strike that would end the game. Then, she stopped moving.

"What?!" Diana said in confusion. It was then she realized that she was being suspended in the air by another bubble. _Nami had enough time to conjure a bubble... That would mean she had to conjure it while she was flashing._ Diana thought, looking at Nami who was panting for air as she composed a stream of water which showered her body as it did a modicum of healing. Their distance was out of range of any of either Champion's spells, each being depleted with what little mana they had and in Diana's case, no Summoner spells available. It was a figurative dead man's land.

"What's the matter Jacobi? I thought you end this quickly?" The Summoner Yin spoke for the first time, goading Jacobi as she could feel his anger begin to boil.

If Diana moved forward, Nami moved back. She moved to the side, Nami would trail her to the opposite side. It was an elaborate dance of two champions, looking for the other to mess up to get the superior position. The dance went for 30 seconds, then a minute and then two minutes of constant dancing around. Each held very little life left and neither wanted to take the risk of causing a mistake. She could feel her Summoner's impatience growing exponentially yet when she eyed Nami, she was completely calm. It was as if...

"It's been 5 minutes Jacobi. That is hardly quick. I think I could take a nap now." Yin's voice had projected out of Nami, her face made a complete contradiction to what Yin was saying. His statements were arrogant yet Nami looked... anxious and discouraged about the comments. It was like she disapproved of what Yin was saying.

"That insolent brat." Jacobi gritted, his anger was riling his impatience and that began to rile his anger into a vicious cycle. Boiling in his anger, Diana had to keep calm. Even though she disagreed with her Summoner, she did not want to end up losing either. It was when she watched Nami step forward, just barely in range of her Lunar Rush.

"That brat is too confident! This ends now." Jacobi demanded, apparently seeing the same mistake Diana saw. She stepped forward, her bruised body surging forward as she began to charge with her final mana. It was when she suddenly saw Nami glow blue as a sudden realization hit her. **Clarity.**

"Summoner! It's a-." Goading Jacobi riled his anger, the dance which nothing happened drove his patience to the point where one well-placed insult blew her Summoner's rationality into the wind as both forgotten the second spell Yin had used. She helplessly watched as she ran into a huge tidal wave, smacking her into the air. She fell to the ground, gritting in pain as she suddenly was pulled back in the air, captured by a bubble that held her in suspension. Falling to the ground once more and standing with wobbly feet, she felt the impact of three final jets of water as she flew back on the ground once more, bruised and unable to move.

A loud buzzer sent a sickening feeling into Diana's stomach. She had lost and she did not lose with dignity, she lost in humiliation as she moved a sore hand as she slammed it into the ground as she swore to her gods.

 **Match over. Game won by Nami and Summoner Yin.**

 _-Yin_

His sides hurt. His arms hurt. His whole body hurt. The adrenaline and thrill of the fight had acted as quite an anesthetic when he had synced up physically to help Nami fight. That is right, his brain also held a massive migraine as he groaned internally as he held an icepack to his forehead. It felt nice for his brain to be slightly numb from the cold but he couldn't ignore the burning sensation he was still feeling when Nami got set on fire. It also didn't help that Diana was one hell of a swordsman. Her slices and attacks were deadly precise and he would have lost only if by his rash commentary didn't set Jacobi off which won him the match.

He was lounging in one of the corner couches back in the Summoner's lounge. Apparently, that is where the newly-induced Summoners had to wait for their Summoner Ranked Robes to start playing with the rest of the Institute. The champions were escorted out, all being thanked for their services before they were asked to leave only leaving Yin with a group full of people that were apparently very good at playing gossip. He just sighed to himself as he let himself sit in the background as each Summoner discussed how they felt they did.

What caught Yin's ear was hearing stomping that got louder and louder as the footsteps made its way to where Yin was lounging on. He didn't feel like opening his eyes to check who was trying to impersonate a mad Alistar. Yet, he could easily feel the anger radiating off whoever was staring at him at the moment as he could hear the poorly restrained huffs. He couldn't help but give a small, yet mocking smile.

"Having such high blood pressure is bad for you. Take it easy and relax."

His answer was met with the same treatment of angry, silent huffing. Whoever was trying to impose their presence on Yin was not impressive at all. It felt as if some child was throwing a tantrum for no peculiar reason and Yin happened to be in the warpath of the tantrum.

"You cheated..." The sentence trailed off but the voice was familiar. No longer was there a sense of cockiness and arrogance within the voice but replaced was something that even dread couldn't describe. Yin opened his right eye lazily, the greeting of radiant blonde hair, green eyes that glared at him with an oval shaped face greeted his perception. The robe he was wearing looked awfully expensive, insignia of both sword and eagle covered the shoulder and sleeves with colors that mixed with yellows, whites and reds made the composition of the robe.

Yin had been somewhat listening to the conversations around him. Conversations revolved around how they believed they did, most being unsure about how they thought about themselves but mostly the epicenter of the conversations gossiped about other Summoners which included himself. However, when one felt like his body went through a simulation in which became a body punching bag for a long time, Yin wasn't in the mood to listen nor immerse himself within the conversations.

"That doesn't concern me. Think of what you want Jacobi." Yin stated firmly and finality as he closed his eye again. A harsh pain rippled through his shoulder. He felt a force yank him off his seat as he was suddenly picked up, landing with clumsy grace on his feet. _I guess he wasn't finished_ Yin thought, sighing internally. Why couldn't he ever get a break was sometimes a wonder to Yin.

"You peasant! No one humiliates the Noble Demacian house of Jacobi." Jacobi gritted through his teeth. Yin couldn't help but roll his eyes. _Everyone from Demacia seems to be from some noble house._ It was listening to an angry little kid who didn't get his favorite toy. He should have been more pissed that he had been dragged forcefully to his feet but attempting to sound at least diplomatic might end this conversation quickly.

"As I said, think of what you will but do not include me with your petty squabbles." He stated with more force this time. He was hoping that his message of 'I don't want to talk' would get through Jacobi's thick skull. He pushed his way through, moving him forcefully to the side as he tried to escape the situation.

"Where are you going coward?! Leaving now because you can't face the facts! Don't have a spine to show that you are really a true Summoner?" Jacobi angrily shouted at Yin. Yin simply made his way to the door, ignoring the comments as he had always done as he grabbed the door handle.

"Can't wait to see how much of a failure you are or are you just trying to get under Antonina's robes?" The comment was seared with malice intent but it did make Yin silently stop as he held the handle. His grip felt like it would crack the metal handle but he still kept a firm leash on his anger. That brief moment of pause and hesitation was all Jacobi apparently needed to see in order to pounce.

"You think you are good enough for her. You are a spineless coward who runs away. Spineless coward, you cheating peasant! Run to whichever dirt hole you birth from! Run while you can, you honorless pig. You don't even deserve to next to Antonina and when you watch me get closer and closer to her, you wish you were at least the fraction of the man I am."

He bit his lip, reminding himself as much as he could that what Jacobi was saying was delusional at most. He fought with himself using his best calming techniques he could think yet he could easily feel his anger beginning to spill. His hands were shaking with quiet, building rage as his grip quietly began to crack the door handle, slowly being crushed by his will. That didn't seem to stop Jacobi who gave a vicious smile, believing he had opportunity to throw more salt on the 'wound' who had created.

"I wonder what she will sound like when I claimed her in my bed. Bet I can make her-" His brain snapped, his growing pain had taken over his rationality with anger stealing his clam. He flashed, blinking in front of Jacobi, giving a hard, round kick to the man's side. A loud **thump** of contact threw Jacobi into the wall with a resounding crash, the impact making a spider's web dent.

"You fucker! I'll kill you for that!" Jacobi hissed, a feral snarl escaped as he jumped to his feet. Another flash, this time face-to-face with Jacobi. Jacobi lashed with a kick, seemingly prepared for that fact but was rebutted with a faster kick to the stomach that sent him back to the wall. Jacobi groaned in pain but that did not stop him from fighting. Yin watched as the man rushed forwards , throwing wild haymakers. He easily ducked and weaved with ease as punch and after punch whished over his head. However, he wanted Jacobi to suffer, trapping one of the arms easily as he brought his elbow down with ferocity into his shoulder. A loud pop and Jacobi's scream of pain confirmed that he had dislocated the man's shoulder.

Hands blurred as he gripped Jacobi's neck bringing him to his knees as his face grew with a gaped mouth and surprised eyes. "I...Ki...Bas..." Jacobi gagged, an inability to finish his sentences due to the fact his air had now become a rare commodity. He smiled, vicious and predatory as if he was a lion that caught his prey as he took the time to scan the room. Some watched with horror or in frozen fear while others had seemingly scrambled out of the room.

"I wonder how long you will last before you lose consciousness." His voice talked, devoid of any emotion as his right eye began to glow bright red. "A pity too, I thought you would give me more of a fight."

"Fuck...Gah!" Jacobi attempted to respond, only for the grip to tighten so much that his fingers were beginning to sink into his skin, drawing dribbles of blood.

"You know... There is a fine line between arrogance and confidence. I wonder which one you really had at times." He said, a cold stare watched as the man made futile efforts to loosened the grip. He watched with seeming care as Jacobi's movements began to slow down. He could hear the doors behind slam open as footsteps hustled with urgency. He turned, throwing the man in front of him and whoever had intruded.

"Kyle YinYue! Let go of him now!" The light had a certain shine that seemingly blocked the feminine voice's face. He could hear the mixture of fear and anxiety in her voice. Yet, when her face began to show little by little, it was certainly the last person he wanted to see. _Antonina..._ He should have felt ashamed, even guilty but that didn't stop him from saying his next words.

"Sorry but... No." He answered coldly. Her face contorted from confusion into an angry resolve as she brought her hands in front quickly. Yin could feel a small whoosh of wind past him as he casually looked back at Jacobi. He should give the man some credit as he was still trying to pry his hands away even though he was looking like he was going to pass out like a blue grape.

Antonina's mouth shrunk into a deep frown as her eyes gave a small sparkle. She looked conflicted with her emotions but Yin could easily see through the mask she was attempting to put on. She seem to take a small breathe in. "I will use force Yin if you do not comply. Let. Him. Go." The statement fell through his ears, Yin ignoring what Antonina had to say as he merely focused on the choking Jacobi.

"Yin... Please... Let him go." Antonina attempted, landing on his deaf ears. The silent standoff between the two seemingly lasted for years as he felt another whoosh of wind... _No, that wasn't wind..._ There were clearly no windows so what was making the draft. The breeze felt more of a cold chill that ran up his spine...

"Fine." Yin seemingly relented, releasing Jacobi as he threw him in front of Antonina. His mouth took in large gasps of air as he held his hands, massaging his reddened neck. He looked like he wanted to say something, looking to find the cold glare of Antonina in which he wisely stayed quiet. Summoners around Antonina quickly surrounded Jacobi, grabbing him as they took him out of the room.

Sharp pain shot through his right eye, unable to help but hiss in pain as blood began to trickle down his eye. The devil's tears as some had called it. He looked to see that even though Antonina looked concerned, she still held a guarded and suspicious glance at him. "Problem?" Yin asked sarcastically, the pain in his eye and the cold chill in his back were not helping.

"Why did you let him go?"

She must have been too focused on the situation involving him instead of taking account the whole environment. "Careless..." He said, quietly enough in which no one could hear it. He merely jabbed a thumb over his right shoulder. "Him."

Antonina looked confused, watching as she took her eyes off him for the first time only to draw a look of honest surprise. "Grand Summoner?! What are you doing here?" She shockingly asked.

The familiar baritone voice cracked the atmosphere as he lifted a hand. "I came as quickly as I could once I heard about this complication. Worry not. I am just here to help dissolve the situation."

"I appreciate your help Grand Summoner but you shouldn't need to come to these kinds of squabbles. I had it-."

"I know you did Summoner Antonina but this one... is an unique case as we both know." Kei interjected, silencing any sort of protest. Yin could hear the soft sigh escape his lips as the cold chill had still not left him. _Apparently, he is really wanting to keep me on my leash._

"Summoner Antonina. Would you mind gathering up the others who have participated in the placement matches and give them their Ranked Summoner Robes please. I will deal with this one... Alone." The statement sounded more of a demand than a request. Antonina looked like she wanted to interject but something held her back. She looked like she had bit on something sour as she reapplied her mask of control.

"I... understand. Please take care of yourself." She said, snapping her fingers as she turned around. Summoners around her began to clear out the lounge as they quickly assembled the rest outside as he watched the doors shut and close, leaving the Grand Summoner and Yin alone. Yet, for a moment, seeing her stop and give a small look back was something that left Yin with a small pit in his stomach.

 _5 minutes later..._

 _-Narrated_

Several long moments passed as the two stood quietly. It felt like a standoff for the two men except that one had the advantage over the other. The longer they stood, the more Yin's anger began to boil and stew in his mind as he shook his head, trying to shake it off. His body suddenly moved, being pushed forward as he took a couple, stumbling steps as he turned to face the un-hooded Kei. Olive skin and scarring around his cheeks and forehead were the first feature Yin could see. Brown eyes that gave the impression of military steel gave the impression of someone that has been through many fights.

"If you don't mind, please sit." Kei stated calmly, taking the initiative as he sat down in one of the chairs that were not overturned. Yin folded his arms, not budging from his spot as he stood behind the couch that faced Kei.

"I think I rather stand." Yin stated coldly. Kei merely shrugged his shoulders as he laid back in his seat, casually lifting his feet onto the table as he gave a satisfying sigh. It was a bit unsettling to see such a casual thing after what had happened.

"Why do you want to become a Summoner?" The question came out from left field, knocking Yin's conscious with surprise as he looked downright confused. He had made a conflict escalate and he wasn't being scolded or reprimanded. Kei gave a chuckle, seeing the confusion settle over his face.

"I... Don't understand." Yin carefully stated.

"What is there to be so confused about? I'm merely asking you a question." Kei answered, now looking at his nails as he sat in his seat. Confusion turned into questioning uncertainty as Yin felt that he couldn't answer.

"My actions..." Kei sat up in a snap, his eyes turned back into that military steel that Yin had always observed. He slapped the air as if he was swatting the idea to the side as he leaned forward.

"Will be discussed later. Both of you provoked each other but that is not important. I want my question answered. Why do you want to become a Summoner?"

"What I did is not important? I dislocated a man's shoulder." Was the instant reply from Yin. He tapped his fingers on the couch as he tried to think of the reasons why Kei would be doing this. Was he already suspended? Was he being sent to jail?

"I am well aware of that but I am the one who decides what happens to you." Kei answered.

 _Ahhh. He's the Head of Security here._ Yin remembered even though that didn't help bring any solace to the situation.

"I... don't know what to say. It's like I told the founders. I am because I want to become the best." Yin watched as Kei scratched his head, sighing in disapproval as he looked at Yin.

"Hmmm. Fine. Let me ask another question. Why did you did what you did?" Kei asked. Yin simply shrugged his shoulders.

"My anger got over me and I just snapped." Yin answered quickly. He was angry and pissed, that should have been obvious enough from what he saw. _Why did he care?_ Yin thought. But his response was a little too quick as Kei shook his head in disagreement.

"Come on now. You can't tell me you haven't heard things worse than what Jacobi goaded you when you were the 'Jack-of-All-Trades'? I read some of the people you caught while you were chasing the Crimson Fist Gang. Pretty nasty stuff." Yin bit his lip in silence. The silence was all Kei needed to give a smirk as he stood up.

"Trying to isolate yourself isn't going to make you the best. Nor is it going to stop people from wanting to help you... Like Antonina." No response from Yin but Kei could easily see the same, angry shaking from earlier which was an indication for Kei that he had clearly hit a nerve.

"Clearly, you don't like talking about this so I have a feeling that if I can get to the bottom of this then I can find the same answer that I am looking for." Kei walked casually, inching his way closer to Yin as Kei flexed his neck, giving him a satisfying crunch as he gave a sigh of relief.

"Don't go there." Yin gritted through his teeth, his voice was stiff like he was sifting through what he could and could not say. Yin's hands also motioned with a slow manner of flexing to un-flexing, as if he was trying to dispel whatever he was thinking through his hands.

"I'm not forcing you. I merely gave a suggestion." Kei's rebuttal was quick. Out of the two men, Yin's emotions were starting to give way to the point where Kei was easily winning the verbal war.

"And if I don't talk?" Yin's voice kept with the quick and precise questions. Nothing more and nothing less came from Yin.

"You are talking right now. So, there seems to be no problem with that part."

"Are you trying to evoke my anger again?"

Kei waved his hands dismissively, his steps had now put him in front of Yin, standing on the opposite side of the couch as his hands laid on the cushy armrests. "Where did you get that notion? I'm just wanting to know why you did what you did? After all, you were quite keen on what would happen to you."

Yin's refusal to answer was answered in silence. _Typical, stubborn attitude._ Kei thought as the two stood in complete silence. Yin's anger and frustration were clearly emanating from his body, yet Kei watched with interest on the different ways he was trying to mask it. He had tried to look like a jolly, happy-go-lucky person who didn't seem to have a care in the world yet now he had completely flipped his attitude. He didn't seem to care that people knew he was cold and harsh, in fact he was flaunting it in a matter of speaking.

"I guess adaptation is too much of a habit now huh?" Kei prodded carefully. It seems as if Yin had already taken into account his actions, his change in attitude meant that his cold attitude and being pro-isolationist would be best to counter to what might happen next. Yet, Kei had one last trump card to pull on Yin, letting his fingers lightly tap the armrest.

"Want to know something interesting? Antonina and Charlotte love you. I don't mean the Love-Love, take my babies kind of way but more of a Love-Love of a family kind of way." Yin's eyes shot up with deathly glares as his eyes burned with a new spark. His mouth began to move but no words sprung from his lips as he clamped his mouth shut. Kei gave an internal smile as he had finally accomplished some side of progress.

"Even after all that you did to cut ties with them after your incident, they still believe that you will come back around. You impacted their lives so much that you thought you could easily fade out of existence?" Kei mused, sounding so casual that it felt that he was just going on about daily life.

"Stop..." Yin said so quietly that Kei couldn't hear it but the effort was definitely seen as Kei shrugged his shoulders.

"You want to know something real funny. That you have done this with everyone you made an impact on. You go in, help them out in your own way then suddenly leave as if death was chasing you. Like seriously, what is your-" Hands slammed on the couch with ferocity that made it look like the couch was stuffed with bricks.

" **Problem!?** My **problem** is that I can't **go back** to them!" Kei raised a brow in response. Yin was angry, his emotions were driving him and that was one of his biggest strengths. Emotions were good at overriding thinking especially in fights that meant death. Think too much on anything but the battle and that would result in death. But, emotions can also be exploited.

"Why can't you go back? It seems quite simple." The statement was tactful, baiting Yin to continue which he watched as line made the hook on Yin.

" **Simple?!** They gave me **their trust** and I threw it back at their faces. They trusted me with so much and yet I ran away like a coward. I don't want to lose..." Yin's voice died, his brain made a realization of what he was doing as his eyes dulled as if he was reigning himself back.

 _Damn. So close too!_ Kei groaned, throwing his head in the air quickly in disappointment.

"I don't want to lose them or anyone to my ignorance..." It was soft. Soft enough that for Kei that even if the room hadn't been dead silent that Kei would have missed it.

"I highly doubt that." Kei stated, a smile had formed on his lips.

"I doubt you do." Yin answered but Kei gave a soft hum in response. Yin was so focused on the ground that he didn't see as two hands plopped onto his shoulders, radiating a warm feeling of calm as he looked up. Kei's eyes glared with experience and yet his smile never did seem to falter.

"No one probably hasn't had to go through what you had to do. But, isolating yourself will only hinder you and make you weaker. Don't think that no one else in the Institute, especially the Champions, haven't gone through similar pains as you. You might be on the award for shittiest life so far but don't think you can change that by becoming an asshole."

"Get off me. I don't need pity or sympathy." Yin said, throwing his arms as he clumsily wiped Kei's hands off his shoulders as he turned to face the back room. Arms settled on his hips as he gave a deep sigh in.

"You aren't a bad guy." Kei's statement made Yin stiff. "I have a good feeling of how you were able to be convinced that you are a bad guy. You probably put impossible limits on yourself that no matter what you do or what you done, you will always seem to be a bad guy."

Yin turned, his eyes checking over his shoulder. He couldn't think of any words or any good rebuttals. _Why? People have said similar things to me before but why is this flustering me?_ Yin thought as Kei clapped his hands. Yin's attention spun to find Kei near the door, his hands on the handle.

"Caught you off guard, didn't I? I'll let you think on that."

Yin couldn't help but stand and blink. The clicking of the door opening shot his brain back to work as he mustered his logic to ask what he could think of.

"What about what happened?"

"Right! Well, it's your first time doing such a devious crime but I believe that it was started from both parties so I think a couple weeks of probation of having to be escorted by a watcher will suffice for you. You will also be needing to report to me daily and if I do catch you doing anything devious, you shall be punished severely." Kei answered quickly.

"But I started the whole incident. Shouldn't I be punished more?" Kei merely waved his hand, giving a shushing sound.

"Your robes will be handed to you by your escort/watcher and you will be escorted back to your room. I would suggest reading up as you will be needed to start ranking soon." Kei said, not answering the question as he made his way out the door. Although, he did take a pause, peeking his head back into the room.

"I did like your comment though. There's a fine line between arrogance and confidence. I think the same could be said about being self-critical and self-hating."

 _Wait... How did he... That means..._ Yin thought. His attention looked back to only find the door closing as Yin stood alone in the room.

 _Damn, he really knows how to play the surprise card on people._ Yin thought as he looked around the room. The room looked partially destroyed, chairs and couches damaged with tables overturned as Yin pondered to himself. _Was he really a good person? No if he was then he would have resolved his personal issues. But, what is a good person? Did he really have such high standards that he placed on himself? Was he really a bad person?_

His hands reached for his chin, the feeling of something wet as he wiped a small bit of the liquid off to find that it was transparent. _Tears?_ _When was the last time I cried?_ Yin wasn't able to think more of that as he noticed out of the corner of his eye something flying towards him. His instincts powered into gear as he turned, hands reaching out as something soft touched his hands that stopped him halfway. It was colored gold with insignias of that rank embroidered into the shoulders of the sleeves

"Ooooh man. Did you see how badass that was!" A voice said, turning to find a bipedal fish, leaning on his trident and Master Yi. _Fizz I believe was the name._ Yin remembered.

"Congratulations on making it in the Gold Rank. I do believe the color suits you." Yi complimented, although Fizz seemed unconvinced.

"Nah dude. He should easily be Platinum. Did you see how well he used Nami to fight that pompous jerk!" Yin couldn't help but give a small smile of pride. It was nice to hear a compliment from the sea of insults when he first joined.

"I'm guessing that you are the one that was supposed to watch me... And he is your tag along." Yin stated, pointing towards Fizz as he stuck his tongue out. Yi merely shook his head in agreement which seemed to irk Fizz.

"Maybe I'm here to watch you instead of this guy." Fizz argued.

"Nah, I doubt you would be the one up to the task to watch a guy like me." Yin stated.

"Also, wouldn't you have been bragging about it more. Weren't you the one that was-" Yi interjected only to be interrupted by Fizz when he brought his trident to his hands.

"Hey! Don't make me skewer you, flashlight!"

"These are not flashlights! These are lenses!

"Same thing, light bulb!"

As the two continued their bickering, Yin shook his head as he looked back at his Robes. He was gold and that meant that even though he had a good start, he still had a long journey in front of him. That nostalgia from earlier, from being on the Rift was returning and he was ready to make some ripples into tidal waves.

"Alright Fish breathe and Light Show. When you two are done bickering like past lovers, do you mind showing me around."

"Shut up!" They said together, joining into their bickering as Yin gave a hearty laugh. He could use to staying here... At the Institute of War.

 **A/N:** I'll try to finish next chapter in a couple of weeks. Time frame between 1-2 weeks between chapters since school is still giving me a ton of shit to do. Hopefully, you enjoyed this chapter and give me any feedback if you are feel inclined. Just don't flame me, I'm not fire-resistant.


	6. Becoming a True Summoner Part 1

A Summoner's Tale

Becoming a True Summoner Part 1

 _A Few Weeks Later_

 _-Yin_

When time flies, time really does seem to fast forward. Days became a week turning into two weeks and now it was three weeks since he had joined the Institute of War or League of Legends. Getting around the Institute was becoming more of second-nature as he easily navigated and mapped the best routes to get around from one place to the next place.

Learning the different roles, items, build paths and strategies had been supplemented by his probation period with Master Yi. His wealth of experience made him very capable at teaching and he had surprised Yin with specific knowledge about each Champion, making a firm statement that there were champions that really strived to be well-informed. It was no wonder he was the go-to champion for any new Summoner. His level of insight and information made him a valuable asset for any new Summoner, giving tips without sounding intrusive or condescending when a mistake was made.

So while his probation went by with the time, he had kept his time with Master Yi cordial at most. His time with Yi had also helped him learn that he was one of the best rumor mills around the block within the Institute, a lot had been surrounding about what had happened and who he was. It was a bit of a relief that no one knew too much except for his basic past but when he heard that the Founders were also keeping his more personal information closed, it was sort of unsettling even for him.

For now, Yin was occupying in one of the training rooms, mostly used by Champions and any keen Summoners. The rooms were masterly crafted that Champions and Summoners could practice without impunity for going completely nuts on the room. The room itself had a complex set of runes that allowed the room to instantly rebuild itself regardless of the extent and severity of the damage.

In this room that occupied with Yin were wooden dummies that sat near the walls of the room. He had began practicing his swordplay, his inspiration mostly coming from watching Master Yi on the Rift, as he went through the most basic of motions as he smacked the wooden dummy. Strike the head. Strike the wrists. Strike the body. Strike the throat then repeat again. It was quite soothing in a way, only needing to focus on hitting an inanimate object as much as he could.

His strikes got faster and faster, going through the motions with a heightened pace. As the pace increased, his strikes were faster but were also getting sloppier and messier until he finished with a strike to the dummy's head, dropping the sword in frustration as he fell into a sitting position. His head lazily flopped into his hand, his brain racking in the memories to figure out what was wrong.

He had some initial training with Master Yi which had helped him immensely with learning the basics. He knew that patience was key as training was a "slow and strenuous process where the results will always be hidden from your sight". Yin gave a heavy sigh. His swordplay was amateurish at best even with the inane amount of hours for any sensible person, about 4-6 hours each day. Some moves were starting to look well-refined but his overall swordplay was sloppy at best.

 _I feel like my practice is stagnating._ He thought, another frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he wiped a thin layer of sweat of his forehead. "Or maybe it's my standards." Yin said to no one in particular as his hands laid back behind him as he looked to the ceiling in resignation. Too preoccupied with his thoughts that he was unable to hear the door slightly open of someone entering the room.

"Probably is. Invest too much time on how to look good, you forget that other people will start to take notice." The feminine voice sounded calm and most likely meant no harm but Yin's instinct kicked into overdrive as his thoughts were interrupted. His body wheeled on the spot, jumping to a fighting stance as he turned to face the intruder. His eyes gave a quick glance to find a feminine face. Jet, sleek black hairs that shined in the light and cat ears?... only interrupted his inspection only for a moment, noticing golden yellow eyes that matched his stare.

"Oooh. I thought you only had one emotion, apathy." The female stranger said, walking in as nine, white tails surrounded her body. The momentary silence and blank stare of awe from Yin only made the stranger giggle as she covered her smile with her hand.

"What happened? Cat got your tongue?" The voice sounded warm, edging close on the fine line between flirting and plain seduction. His eyes took a double take, blinking a few times in surprise that there was an solid, animate object in front of him before he responded.

His eyes narrowed, moving from surprise to a neutral, apathetic gaze as he kept his eyes on the person rather than looking fascinated at the fox ears on her head or the white tails that swayed gently behind her. "You're... Ahri, I presume."

"The one and only." She proclaimed proudly, yet innocently as she gave a very bright smile, twirling innocently on the spot like a ballerina. Her head tilted back, letting her hair circle around as it lightly covered half of her face as she gave a childish smile. She took a stride forward, closing the gap between the two individuals as she laid a finger on his chest. He could swear that her finger was setting his skin on fire as she gave a dangerously soft purr.

"You knoooow. People have been saying that you are verrrrry intriguing. Are you an intriguing person, Mr. Summoner?" Her words purred in an erotic ton that made Yin couldn't help but swear internally as his body felt like a horny pre-teen. He gave a small huff, a futile ditch to clear his mind as he exhaled the air slowly as he matched her sultry look with his steeled stare.

"I been getting that a lot. So, what part of me has so fully grace your intrigue and attention?"

The latter of his statement meant to be sarcastic. A witty response to the invasive, yet successful attempts of getting under his skin. A poor lack of foresight was flashed with a late connection and a sudden realization on how his question could be so easily warped in his opponent's favour. His response was light fingers that gently danced up and down his body, setting a trail of pleasure through his body as soft purrs cooed into his ears. _God fucking..._ Yin anguished internally as he looked back to see a vicious smile on Ahri's face.

"There's no part of you I don't want... I. Want. You. All. Of. You." Given Yin's height of about 5'11, he was just slightly taller by an inch on Ahri but meant that when she brought him into a bone-crushing hug, his face would fall right into her hair. _How do you make hair so plushy?_ He wondered, feeling pleasant sensations in just being in touch with her hair. His head was beginning to feel more and more light as his habits began to shake him mentally.

 _She's charming you! Her hair feels so nice. Don't get mushy and snap out of it! Her touch burns pleasant feelings in me. DO YOU WANT TO DIE?!_ __Screamed his thoughts as it held an internal civil war. His better judgment would disallow him to be bested but he hadn't let loose in a very long time.

"You shouldn't be so tense." Ahri piped, most likely sensing the tension within him as he gave a soft feral growl that barely pasted his lips. Her face nuzzled into his chest, slowly rubbing back and forth in a hypnotic fashion as Yin's hand finally lashed out, gently setting on one of Ahri's nine tails amidst his mind screaming to let these feelings continue. His hands gave a firm, yet soft grasp as his fingers began to softly pressure the muscles.

A soft yelp of pleasure escaped Ahri's lips as her eyes widened with shock and surprise. _Looks like she wasn't expecting me to do such a thing._ He thought devilishly as he gave a small smile. Just as if he was wanting sculpt a masterpiece, his fingers massaged and pressured with calculative precision, forming soft circles with varying pressure in a pulsating fashion around the more stiffer areas.

"Two can easily play this game. So why are you here?" His tone melted into the same, seductive speech that Ahri had previously used, slipping his tone to just a soft, enchanted whisper as his lips came close to Ahri's popped up fox ears. Her ears seemed to wiggle with excitement, something that was reciprocated as she mewed in pleasure, purrs increasing in volume.

"Please... Don't stop." Her voice pleaded, her face trying in vain to nuzzle her cheek against his only to be stopped by the last strain of self-control within Yin as he almost snapped in pleasure to comply... Almost. With a gently push, he had separated the two of them as his head suddenly became vastly clear from the earlier, fuzzy feelings. His brain snapped back from the pleasure to analysis, quickly delving through the details of what had just happened.

Ahri crossed her arms, giving a childish tantrum that threw a innocent frown on her face as she stuck her tongue out. "What a party pooper." She huffed to herself. It was still part of the act, trying to hook the target back in but Yin knew better then to double dip.

"Ah. So that is what is to be charmed. Your reputation is well deserved." Yin complimented. The compliment twisted the atmosphere, turning one of warmth to sudden ice as Ahri moved into a more guarded pose, arms uncrossed, moving to cover her hips as she gave a ugly frown.

"What is that suppose to mean?" She snarled, her eyes deepened with sudden hate as she lost her soft, pleasant outlook from earlier. Even through the ferocious facade, there still small glints of sadness which flashed in her eyes which did not go unnoticed.

On instinct, Yin took a step forward only to pause and hesitate himself. He wasn't sure whether or not to comfort Ahri. Maybe it was of how she acted earlier but he didn't tell her to stop either. Maybe he was doing what in some random article he read called 'benevolent sexism'... Something about like believing that a woman needs help with the tiniest of things like opening a door or always a need to protect the women. Probably his reasoning was from the first idea but the latter also had enough evidence to make a strong arguable case.

"I truly doubt that he is the kind of person that believe such gossip." Another feminine voice, this one more steely and authoritative broke through the silence as both turned to find Antonina standing at the entrance. Call it a blessing or a curse but it was nice for someone to show up to change the topic of a conversation that was heading south.

"What are you doing here?" Yin asked, confusion laced with a bit of suspicion as he looked between Ahri and Antonina.

"I'm guessing she didn't pass the little message I sent her to give you then." Antonina said, giving an unimpressive look to Ahri whose tail literally shot up as she hid behind them. _Embarrassment isn't her strong suite._ Yin thought.

"I-I-I... Was going to but I wanted to..." Ahri mumbled out, slowly losing volume as she cut off mid-sentence as Antonina only shook her head. She sighed into her hand as she crossed her arms before leaning back on the wall.

"Am I missing something or did you two communicate via telepathy and I didn't know about it?" Yin chimed in, the hint of confusion still rang in his voice as the two women gave him a stern stare. "What? I'm allowed to be confused." He said defensively. The two women could only stare at each other, only for Antonina to nod her head towards Ahri as if to coax her to get on with it.

"I wanted to ask if you would use me in your upcoming platinum promotionals." Ahri said, her confidence had been reigned back in as Yin raised a brow. _That was it? Through all that charm and everything, that was what she was going to ask me?_

"So why not start with that. What about the stuff before..." Yin looked towards Antonina, a more curious look plastered on her face so he had cut himself off, hoping to leave without being tossed in a body bag.

"It was just extra stuff. I wanted more though." Ahri said, giggling nervously as she tussled strands of her hair as Antonina's face seemed to click on what was being said. A quick flash of disgust seeped into her facade as she snapped her fingers at the doorway.

"Now... If you don't mind." She said, clipping her voice as quickly as possible.

"But he never answered-" Ahri was silenced halfway. If there was one thing Antonina was really frightening with was the stares she could give you that convince anyone to do anything just to not see it again. Ahri, although a bit solemn, reluctantly made her way out of the room as a hand waved goodbye to Yin. Watching her body disappear around the corner of the door, Yin watched as Antonina looked through once more, as if giving a double check that no one was around before shutting the door.

"Oh no.. Not you too." Yin said sarcastically, putting his hands in feigned anguish. Antonina gave him a deathly stare, although it did not cut the small smile that had formed on his face.

"But seriously though Nina. You know that was a bit harsh on her right?"

He watched as she gave a soft scoff, throwing any stray hair in her face behind her shoulder as she leaned on the only way of getting in or out of the room. "Do you always try and flirt with every girl you see?"

Yin raised a brow. Was she trying to fish for information about him now? "Why? Are you single and madly jealous about my escapades?"

"I have a-" Eyes lit up as a soft blush covered her cheeks as she moved to cover her face as Yin gave a wolfish smile.

"Ooooh. So there is a guy in your life? Or is it a girl? I'm cool with which way you go. Who's the lucky fellow?" Yin asked cheekily, stepping forward like a teenage gossip girl as he pretend to wring up his ear as he pressed it close to where Antonina was standing.

"It will be just our secret." He whispered mockingly, as if the empty room was filled to the brim with a crowd of people.

 **THOOM!**

Yin couldn't imagine being able to fly faster across the room as he smashed into the wall with a loud bang as he slid down onto the floor. _Note to self: Really don't piss off Antonina._ Yin thought as he gave a quick cough for air as he looked up. Hands were lit in a radiant light as she pulled back from a boxer's stance as she gave a frustrated hiss.

"You. Don't. Tell. Anyone." Damn, she really did fit the part of being someone that could easily diffuse a situation with a frown and one sentence. It didn't help that Yin couldn't help but give a small, genuine laugh as he shook his head. "What is so damn funny?!"

"You know. You really have changed."

"Everyone changes Yin. We all eventually move on." Well, that was quite a low blow even to Yin's standards. Bringing up past recollections to try and see if she could spark a reaction out of Yin. _If only it was so easy._ It was tempting to say that aloud but Yin merely bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders.

"So **why** are you here? I'm getting tired of being interrupted every time I like to do something... Alone." Yin emphasized which seemingly brought back the inherent neutral smile that Antonina had when she didn't have anything on her mind.

"I need your help." _Help? What help?_ Yin thought as he scratched his head.

"I'm not exactly free. I got an upcoming-" "Platinum Promotionals that you are doing but have been delayed till after the 46th Valoran Peace Conference is finished." Antonina finished as she gave a heavy sigh as Yin blinked in confusion. _Wait, she isn't... No..._

"The 46th Valoran Peace Conference is being held here, at the Institute of War, and I need your help." Antonina finished as she gave a look which demanded an immediate answer. He looked around. No way out and the only way to the exit was through the person he knew that was going to bring up more than just security issues.

 _This is going to be a long day..._

 _2 Hours later. Inside the Council of Justice Security Office._

 _-Antonina_

"No."

 _Aaaargh._ Her mind stormed with frustration as she slammed her hands on her small table that she was given. Littered on the table were schematics and routes of the different plans that would be occurring during the Peace Conference. She had settled Yin enough to bring him back and have him at least listen to what the security is like and what her problems were with it.

"Why! Why are you being so adamant?!" She said, flustered as she tussled her hair for who knows how many times in the past 5 minutes.

"Your security looks fine as it is. You have more than enough contingency plans, probably more than what rules that attempt to hold Ziggs back whenever he is trying to invent a new explosive. Plus the fact that everything seems to be well researched, so I don't see myself adding anything more useful." He had been on that tangent for the past half an hour or so, even through all the different arguments that she was trying to use, it seem to just simply breeze over his head or go through one ear and out the other pretty quickly.

"I thought I also mentioned the part about how most of our staff has no to little experience with such a event on such a scale or have efficient fighting skills." She stated flatly.

"You imply that you are incapable of supplying them the resources. It looks like you spent an obscene amount of timing calculating the risks and finding the best options for each situation. And yet, you still keep saying that the security isn't good without me. Why...?" Yin lead on, emphasizing the last part as he stood up from one of the chairs that occupied from his room. His hands twisted on each other, fingers digging into each other's palm as he stretched his shoulders and arms in the air.

"Don't say that you doubt yourself. You could easily... Easily teach most or all of the recruits if you put your heart to it by yourself but you come to me for my help why? Even after two hours of the same answer, even after I rebutted your objections and concerns, why are you still trying so hard to convince me?" Yin listed in quick succession. She couldn't help but exasperate as she threw her hands on her head.

"The Founders had personally asked..." "If they want to put me on a leash to keep an eye on me, there are more efficient ways of doing it" Yin cut her off quickly, merely looking back at one of the paintings on the wall. It was getting to the point where she was finding that no matter what she said, there was always something that Yin could rebuke her with.

She wanted to open her mouth, to say something... Anything to keep attempting to convince Yin. He was an expert in this kind of criminal networking. How they move contraband into secure areas without being seen or caught. But, she had taken the liberty of researching as Yin had mentioned, making sure to look at the different possibilities. The Founders had asked her to give them a secure sight so she obliged to do so. Yet, the more she thought about finding a reason, the more she began to realize that it was boiling down to one point. One reason to why she was trying so hard.

The chair screeched backwards, grinding against the wooden floor as Yin give a quick yawn. There hung a tone of disappointment in the air as she watched from behind her desk as she watched him make his way to the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked, disappointment bitterly entering her voice as Yin merely tilted his head back.

"I believe the conversation is done. I'll be taking my leave now unless you have something to add." He stated firmly, the sentence had a tone of finality that literally screamed 'Last chance'. She sighed, she was not one that cared about what people saw of her, why start with the person that was the biggest influence for that.

"Do you hate me and my sister?"

One could literally feel the drop in temperature, that sudden dip and loss as air began to slowly frost over like a raging, freezing tide that rampaged forward with no restraint of stopping. It was what some of her more religious friends called 'when hell freezes over the heavens'. Yin turned on the dime but it felt like she was staring at a ghost, a ghastly expression on his face as if all emotion had drained from his face.

"How does this relate to what we were just talking about?"

His voice was clipped, anger was something of a rarity from the person she had known. He always held that happy-go-lucky feeling that ran around and infected everyone and everything with the same feeling as to help them through the day. At times, she could even spy a couple flashes of sadness in his eyes but it seemed he was able to move on and never let things bother him. But she wasn't going to let him get away with such excuses! He wasn't the only one that had to suffer! He wasn't the only one that had to deal with pain! And the more and more she thought, the more pain and sadness broiled into the energy to shout what she really felt.

"EVERYTHING!" She shouted, this time the loud definite bang of her hands slamming into her desk had spider webbed the small glass sheet that covered the polished wood. Tears were beginning to blur her vision but she did her best to not sound like a crying child.

"Why are you avoiding us? Completely disregarding the fact you are not even hiding it, what is with us that made you so cruel? Were we that terrible of people?" _Why? Just tell me why?!_ She internally pleaded, yet seeing his face blankly stare at her which held no emotion, no response cracked at her hopes for an answer to all his questions.

"Please... Just-" _tell me something. Anything!_ She cut herself off, only able to finish her dying, cracked voice in her mind as she pleaded again.

"It's... It's.." _Complicated. Always complicated!_ She finished in her mind furiously, believing that was the answer as she sighed in resignation. "Much more difficult than just complicated." Her eyes perked up. Eyes met a potpourri of emotion, the most outstanding one was... Sadness... maybe?, in Yin's eyes as she saw something begin to eat away at his emotionless gaze.

"Only you, Father and Gerald knew what happened that day. Even Gerald wouldn't tell me. He's my god damn Butler and he has refused me saying I had to ask you or Father! Why?!" She stamped her foot. Crossing over around the desk, through the carpet as she marched closer until she stopped face to face with Yin.

"That conversation... had nothing to do with you." She slapped him hard. Sometimes it was just infuriating how much men literally posse women into a group of helpless damsels. She could easily take care of herself. Why should she be treated any different just because of her gender.

"God damnit! I'm getting sick of hearing that! It's not my problem. You don't need to know this. You don't need to worry about this. It has everything to do with me because of YOU!" Emphasizing the you, she pointed a hard jab at Yin's chest, most likely being able to draw blood if there wasn't the black, leather coat that Yin was wearing and not the standard Summoner's robes. However, she was never expecting a low growl to escape his lips. It reverberated of a dog that was back into a corner with nowhere else to go. Whether she thought it was a good idea to keep prodding it never came to her.

"So. Why!"

Hands flew at a blinding speed, too fast for even the trained eyes of Antonina to respond as they grasped her arms, pinning to her sides as she gave a vain struggle in trying to release herself.

"What happened between your father and I has absolutely nothing to do with you." He repeated again, this time with more anger. She couldn't help but give a scoff as she spat at whatever bitter taste was still left in her mouth from hearing that line.

"Is it how you somehow killed Father?" Part of her regretted letting that line slip but when you get so fed up in frustration about how much sandbagging people have done just to keep you in the dark, you don't really have the foresight to filter what you say. She wasn't one to listen to rumors but some had accuse Yin of being a part of why her Father died, especially since he died of a heart attack only days after their mysterious huge fight.

That fight was the highlight of something awful. She had only finished coming back from private school with her sister when she came into the room that had been through a storm. Her father sat at one end, slouched in one of the few chairs that had been not knocked over. All she got was that he had a fight with Yin that had resulted in him leaving without even saying a word of goodbye to her. But for all the questions she asked, she only got cryptic answers in return. She wasn't sure what broke her heart more. Yin leaving without a trace or that her father didn't trust her enough to tell his family what had happened.

With all the mulling in her mind, what she noticed with that small, off-handed comment came off like an unexpected punch to the gut. His tight grasp on her arms literally dissipated, instead reaching to rub his eyes as he took a deep inhale in. His face fluctuated between anger, and... regret? The only other indication was his irregular breathing, inhaling and exhaling as if something was hitched in his throat. It even looked like he felt betrayed... No, the only people who were allowed to feel betrayed was herself and her sister. He was the one who ran away and left them alone. He was the one that had always been avoiding them.

"I-...I given up trying to find reasons... No, a justification that told gave me the right to run away for the past four years. Maybe you are a part of it... But I made a **promise**! He shouted, slamming a hand into one of the bookshelves at the swing rumbled the bookshelf, the vibrations made it through the neatly stacked line of books as some tumbled to the ground. He panted, giving a heavy inhale as he unclenched his fist, forcing it to relax.

It was first real, genuine emotion that Antonina had heard from Yin. From the steely, unfazing gaze to the monotone, filtered voice, she was starting to think that someone had robbed the man his emotions. But... She still wasn't impressed. She couldn't help but fold her arms disapprovingly as she shook her head.

"What? Made a promise to my father to protect me? Shield me from all the bad things in the world?" It didn't make it easier for the situation with the clear sarcasm and indifference to her voice in her statements. She had heard it many times before, from suitors to her father's friends.

"Hahaha... No, a selfish promise. Certainly not a promise to your dad. A promise I made to myself." He stated, laughing slightly which hung with guilt as he guided his fingers along the spines of the remaining books that sat on the bookshelf he had attempted to knock over.

"Maybe you are right. You might as well be involved with it just as much as I don't want you to be. I'll held on to my own reasons for a long time without taking much of a second thought. Maybe I do hate you and your sister." He added solemnly.

"Promises can always be broken. Just open up to us... Or just... give me a clue at least. Don't hide in your shell, I'm more than capable of handling whatever dirty laundry you are trying to keep away from the light. Why do some men, especially you, have this complex of taken something on by yourself?" She quickly responded, putting a hand on his shoulder as she gave a tight squeeze. His head turned slightly back with a smile that tried to be warm when something terrible had just happened.

"Don't know. Inferiority complex maybe?" That gave both of them a chuckle even amidst the whole train wreck of a conversation they were having. That was the smile she had known him from such a long time ago. It was like back then, with no worries about the world. Maybe she was finally getting somewhere with Yin. Maybe.. Just Maybe-

 **B O O M!**

The sound deafened their ears. The shock wave was large enough for the foundation of concrete to shake as any miscellaneous objects that were loosely placed flew across the air before clanking or cracking to the floor. It felt as if Cho'gath had been let loose to do a running marathon. The shock shook the floor, as she struggled to keep her ground, taking a step out as she controlled the wobbling in her feet as the aftershocks hit. After 45 seconds, the tremors stop and then followed a loud blare of sirens as Antonina ran to her desk. Hitting a button, a screen popped in front of her. Standing in front was a man, seemingly covered in what she believed was dirt and a reddish liquid, most likely blood.

"What the hell is going on!"

The video flickered, static blaring through the screen as the man cut in and out. "Got call... Suitcase... Bomb exploded... Administration Building."

She glanced at the time. 11:20am. _Shit. Charlotte should be at work now..._ "Causalities... How many!"

"No idea... Fire... Need to expunge..."

"Fuck!" Antonina cursed under her breath.

"Charlotte works at the administration building right?" Yin piped up. How he knew this information was for another time. Right now, she had more pressing issues to deal with.

"Yeah... Yes, she does." She said, trying to hide the worry in her voice as she looked across the screen to Yin.

"I'll go and help them out. They probably need an extra hand and you need to be here to oversee the comms... And to make sure your sister is safe." He said, making his way to the door. The time wasn't now to ask if the conversation they were having was going to be finished but she wanted to know.

"I promise I'll make it up to you. Especially after today." Yin added, stopping for a moment at the door before he turned around the corner, footsteps increasing indicating that he was starting to run.

She sighed. An argument that ended with more questions and now an explosion. Her day was just getting better and better.

"The last person who said the same thing was my father... And that was before he died."

 **A/N:** Did I say two weeks... Well, guess I made it a month. To make it up to you, maybe during the two weeks of not having an assignment except studying for exams, I will possibly have another chapter up by then. The next 3, including this one, had been pre-planned about 3 weeks ago so hopefully I can get my writing momentum going again. Cheers.


	7. Becoming a True Summoner Part 2

A Summoner's Tale

Becoming a True Summoner Part 2

 _Administration Building - Two hours after the explosion_

 _-Yin_

Structurally, the outside of the two-floored administration building seemed fine with both the foundations and the brick walls not crumbling on top of each other. That was if you excluded the big, gaping hole that occupied the entrance to the building. And the fact that small flickers of fires still sparked a small mix of orangey, red hue light as curious onlookers were pressed back by security. He could see that inside, investigators hard at work trying to decipher the clues that they could find to figuring out how and why this event had occurred.

When Yin had first arrived, they had completely quarantined off the pathways in and out towards the building. Fires were still erupting from different vicinities with a mixture of smoke and brick dust that filled the air. They didn't want anyone near to contract any of the fumes, only the fire personnel who were suited up were allowed to enter. It was a full two hours or so until they were allowed to make it to the yellow border of tape that they had set up.

He made his way, pushing people to the side that had began to form a crowd that had swarmed the yellow-tape line to get the best view of the destruction. He had found one of the security officers who had been placed to keep the crowd at peace. He donned a distinct, purple robe with insignias on the shoulders that indicated it was crafted within the Institute of War. The front of the robe held a patch that had been embroidered with a white dove, most likely symbolizing they were the people who held the peace. He couldn't help but feel that was a bit ironic though. How do you keep the peace when the job of security is to react to the threat of violence instead of preventing it?

"Can you tell us how the bomb got there?"

"Could you tell us what the bomb was?"

"Do you know who set the bomb?"

"Will the Peace Conference continue with the Institute as its host?"

"Will you finish the investigation on time?"

"What about this top investigator that you are hiring? Any statements?"

Questions were fired at the men and women by eager reporters and journalists who stood at the line. He had to give them credit though, keeping a straight and neutral face while they answered with the same line. "No comment can be made at this time." Some looked like they wanted to say more but the training that they were given must have taught them to be tight-lipped.

Abstaining from answering was a good way of keeping information tight. Most likely, they didn't want to leak any information out without confirmation. But to keep information tight, it meant that the Institute cared a lot about its own image. Doubts always start when one could find a crack in the image. If the Institute was going to hold such a major event as the upcoming peace conference, then they needed to look like they had everything in control.

He paused. This had not concerned him. Why was he here? He had already heard from the initial reports that there were no causalities and that all personnel within the affected building were talking with the Security Council and its members. Yet, he had stayed for the full duration before being allowed to see the charred building. He should be focusing on his Platinum Promotion games, not something like this. Was it something Antonina said? Maybe, it-

"KYLE!" His heart jumped, eyes roaming as he found a darting figure running towards him. He didn't get time to react, especially including the Security who turned as they watched something whizz by them which slammed into Yin's body. A bone-crushing hug with a blob of bright, red hair that plastered his face as he hesitated to move his arms at all. Only one person always used his first name...

"You know... I think there's a time and place when you want to tackle-hug someone..." He said dryly, as he looked down to see that he was well connected with the intrude. "Charlotte..."

The perturbed looks on the Security guards only made it more pronounce when a flashes of lights started to rain down on the two. Most likely, this was the last thing they wanted. Something to rile the attention of the onslaught hoard of journalists and Charlotte had seemingly kicked the homeostasis of peace out the window.

"Maam, this is not a secure location. You are still needed-." One of the security guards, female in tone, rose to speak up. Yet they were quickly cut off with only a finger snap across the masked dove face that they wore. For a 17yr old Summoner, one of the youngest to ever reach top 10 in diamond, Charlotte could hold a hell of a glare when she wanted to.

"I understand, Rita. But this... is our consulting detective... Only one in the world." Charlotte explained firmly, giving a cocky smile. It was funny in a way of watching the guard's face distort when being told off by someone about... maybe 3-4 years younger than her. Most Security Summoners started at the age of 20 with early jobs being mostly menial and 'grunt work' of the kind... Wait.. Hold on...

"When did-" "Time to go, Detective!" She excitedly exclaimed, cutting Yin off. Quickly, she tugged the yellow tape up as she brought a strong grip that wrapped his hand as he felt himself pulled forward towards the scene. He felt himself stumble for the first few steps, only to catch his footing as he was forcibly dragged into the building. When did she ever get a strong of a grip was something for Yin to look into, especially considering he was a good 3-4 inches and about 40-50 pounds compared to Charlotte.

He tugged his hand back, literally yanking his hand which slammed back into his body once they had made it past the entrance and around one of the corridors. It was away from any nosy viewers which made it even a much nicer coincidence to be able to retain his dignity. Charlotte seemed to turn around innocently which made Yin slightly peeved.

"Why..." He raised a finger in anger, his mouth slightly opening before closing. No, he was peeved by the sudden proclamation but his rationality told him he should listen her out. Even when his rationality was inconsistent of being actually rational... Antonina flashed in his mind which he internally shuttered. "A consulting detective?"

She looked surprised, as if she had steeled herself for a furious onslaught of remarks. Instead, she bit her lip, eyes that looked like they didn't have a well-informed response ready. "Call it a whim. Besides, I think it fits your personality."

He wanted to answer. Really badly when he thought about it. But, he folded his arms in disagreement, leaning back onto the charred wall as he moved to stretch his neck from side to side. "Why?" All he got was a childish grin, sticking out her tongue as his response as he sighed. _Time to think at loud then._ He thought.

"Only person I told I was coming to look for you was your sister. Means that you must have gotten a message at some point telling you so since you were able to point me out quickly. But, I didn't want to stay and you knew that. Called me a consulting detective without my consent. Which probably means that you... No. Someone has asked for me to help. If it was you who asked me for help, you probably would have told the guards to let me through. But they responded as if they never knew it had happened. So someone must had spring this idea very recently."

"See, I told you a detective fits you perfectly." She assured happily, only to see the disapproving look on Yin's face. Maybe he was being too paranoid for his own good. Then again, it was a good habit if you didn't want to get backstabbed on the back streets of Zaun. Her face contorted an unusual frown, looking out of place considering how he had always known her for being an 'unnaturally winded-up ball of positive energy'.

"Look... People need to know and we haven't been able to get anywhere. It's been almost three hours and the investigative teams haven't been able to make sense of the evidence. Founder Silverman had said that requesting your help would bring fresh eyes to the case."

 _Considering they able to make sense of what's going on is an impressive feat in three hours... But what's with Silverman wanting me?_ Yin thought. He had only been here for only a few weeks, almost a month but a Founder was already requesting him. His face frowned, creasing into the same, steely stare that he had accustomed himself as he answered.

"No." He said, turning around immediately.

Charlotte exasperated in disbelief. "I didn't even ask you, I was just telling you!"

"No, but you were going to. You were leading on to a question." He fired back quickly as he only took a quick glance back before walking back the same way he had been dragged. Why was he here? He could be spending his time getting ready for the promotionals even after the convention. He was here and only here to become a Summoner. Nothing more and nothing less. It only took a few steps before he heard a question he didn't want to hear.

"What if I was hurt from the explosion? Would you have done it then?" He paused in his steps. His movement became erratic, like a dog fighting the leash, as he awkwardly faced Charlotte with a voice that sounded forced.

"You are and look fine. Why ask such a silly question?" She didn't look convinced at all. No one was apparently ever convinced at his questions. Maybe it had to do that most people he had to deal or persuade were sometimes as dumb as a rock... Probably be offending the intelligence of rocks cause at least they weren't born being able to think... if you excluded Malphite.

"You're ignoring the question Kyle..." Charlotte trailed off. _Why is everyone playing the guilt card lately... It's getting really, really... But was she really playing the guilt card._ Yin thought to himself. He literally ran to make sure she was fine then stayed even when the initial reports came out. If he had to be honest with himself, what was he really running away from?

"Why are you so interested?"

"Why do you always ignore questions that concern you?

"I have my reasons."

"We all have our reasons, Kyle..."

Charlotte sighed, she took a step forward, enclosing another hug around Yin. This one was soft, loving in a sense as she carefully maneuvered herself to cuddle around Yin. It was a warm, fuzzy feeling that pitted in his stomach as he awkwardly took the embrace. "Just once. Trust us that we won't judge you." She said, her voice muffled as she was literally talking into his chest.

Damn was she good at this. He felt almost the same way as when Ahri was doing the exact same thing. He relented, giving out a soft sigh as he looked down at the top of her head. "You said your teams weren't making sense of the investigation. What does that mean?"

He heard an excited squeal. She pushed herself off Yin, shaking her head from side to side but one could tell that she was trying very poorly to hide her smile. "Oh no. You don't get to sound interested without agreeing first." _Always got to be some sort of hook. Why is there always a hook?_ Yin thought.

"Fine you have 15-" "30 minutes. I know you well enough that 15 minutes isn't long enough time to first assess the scene. Plus, you will also need to explain to us why." Charlotte interrupted, the comment pulled at his lips, tugging for him to smile. Oh, how much she knew about his tendencies.

"Alright then, Lestrade." Her face scrunched in confusion. Apparently for all that wit and charm in her mind, she didn't try reading in his opinion, one of the best books that was out there on the market. "Show me the case."

 _Inside the area in which the explosion had occurred._

 _ **[This is where you go and take a 5 minute break so you don't kill your eyes... Like seriously, my eye sight is like -7.25 for each eye.]**_

 _-Yin_

What's the first thing anyone would do when asked to walk into a room that they have never saw before? Obviously, you look around. Find where makes the room distinct. Somewhat similar when you went sightseeing, what you looked for were the landmarks or markers of that area.

First thing Yin could tell with the area that it was atypical office layout, outfitted to hold an approximate population of 50 people. 12 groups of 4 cubicles each, set in neatly formed rows with two wider spaces near the far back, most likely representing the executive offices helped with the estimation. He could also spot a lounge area, and a couple meeting rooms which seemingly could hold up to 15 people. It was quite quaint of an office space, or it could have been if it didn't have the looks of both devastation and decimation.

Materials of all kinds scattered around the space that used to occupy your most stereotypical of things. Chairs were blow to smothering parts, wooden tables splinters littered the floor as a charring of black covered heaviest on where the blast site had been most intense. Bright yellow evidence tents were placed systematically, each corresponded with a number of the area that it was occupying. Holographic, light blue outlines of where the bomb occurred and how it started were neatly organized in which could tell a story of how and what had happened.

With those investigating, only Yin could spot a two of the League champions sifting and mingling with each other as they looked through the evidence. He spotted them out to be Vi and Caitlyn, both known as the Piltover Duo. They were famed with their flawless catching record, the strength and instincts of Vi and the tactical genius from Caitlyn made it merely impossible for any lawbreaker to escape...

Yet, something was strange. It felt a bit... quiet for such an investigation. When he did his double take, his eyes failed to find a lack of Institute investigators on scene. In fact, there was none of these investigators to speak of anywhere around the scene. Where they just out for a break? No... That can't be it or he would have seen them coming in or out when he had been dragged by Charlotte.

"Why is there no one else here? Except for them." He said, looking to where Charlotte was standing, who had a sheepish look on her face. She gave a forced laugh, tussling her hair around as she looked anywhere but where Yin was standing. _She wouldn't have done what I think she would have done..._ Yin thought to himself, awaiting for an answer that didn't come.

"Oh, Burnadette didn't tell you?" He winced at the slang. He hated that kind of verbal talk where words that were bigotry didn't sound like bigotry. He wanted to give a snarky remark back to whoever said it. He turned to the voice, the brash and completely blunt tone voiced from Vi, wearing her impressive hex-tech gauntlets with goggles that rested on her bright, pink hair.

 _Right... I read Vi's background that she is quite blunt with her opinion._ It did help when looking back at Charlotte that she was literally paying no mind to the comment at all though she was avoiding his gaze. He sighed, the feeling to be the person that was out of the loop of information especially when he was pulled into something gets a bit annoying after a while. "So... Could someone bring me up to the point where I am not confused on a daily basis?"

In the small circle that was being formed between the Piltover Duo, Charlotte and Yin, all eyes moved and set their sights figuratively on the redhead in anticipation of an answer. For all her confidence that she had gained and practiced with, she still was the same at being flustered when she was called out on something... _Being a noble might have been a bit of detriment to that fact._ came as Yin was thinking in silence.

"I might have... somewhat maybe... I think I was a bit too zealous?" _Wait... Did she just answer in a question._ Yin thought, shaking his head as he gave her his best stern, but no-so-scary glare right into her eyes.

"Charlotte..."

She gave a shaky, nervous laughter as she played with her hair. He had to admit, still having the baby-face complexion with piercing blue eyes and that long, curly hair was quite a cute sight to see... It almost made him relent with guilt that he was being angry at Charlotte. Almost... "I might have accidently been a bit too keen and accidently ran my mouth to the media?" The statement turned question only lead to an anticipation that dropped to the floor like a bag of bricks. With his quiet, and this time added deathly stare, he simply eyeballed her roaming focus until she shook him off, waving her hands in the air in exasperation.

"I might have told the press in an interview while in a moment.. and I emphasize that it was in the moment... that we were... **goingtofindoutwhathappenedatanycostandwhodidthisbywhenIlookattheclocknowinabouttwohours.** " His eyes blinked. There was a few things in his life that would render him speechless and Charlotte's ability to spew information like it was a rolling avalanche was one of them. It was a trait that Charlotte had somehow perfected was still a mystery to Yin. Giving a quick double-take, his brain flashed as he realized what her jumbled sentence had meant.

He wanted to open his mouth, but he couldn't help and give a small snicker and a small creep of a smile. He should be mad, in all retrospect but honestly, it was starting to get stupidly dumb of him to get mad at every single little detail. "Anyways. So how does that statement mean that the League Investigation team fails to show up."

"It doesn't have to do much about the statement. It came from the Founder's suggestion." From his view, it looked like the words were coming out of Charlotte's mouth but the tone was too masculine, a little more on the smooth side to the more feisty tone of Charlotte's. His head turned to the right, finding a view of a man who looked early in his 20s, having a swimmer's tone of body with jet, blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Jay Vandergad, Head Security Investigator of the League Team." His tone was professional, answering on beat as if he knew what questions were going to be asked. He brought his hand forward in greetings which Yin took after a moment of hesitation. "Finally got the chance to meet you after hearing so much from you from Charlotte and Antonina."

"Good to meet you although..." Yin stopped for a moment. Both Charlotte and Antonina were literally coddled and sheltered growing up due to their father's beliefs. It was sort of why Antonina could easily be seen as an 'Ice Queen' and why it was curious to see how openly optimistic Charlotte was to the world. Then again, he had an idea of why this Jay knew both so well but it was something for another time. He wanted to asked about what was his suggestion but something in the back of his mind was already pulling the answer from his lips.

"How does the Founder suggestion mean anything?" Jay smiled, his eyes flashed in something close to respect as if he was acknowledging how well Yin stuck to his instincts.

"Well considering that Charlotte said that your eye could help us." Yin couldn't help but flash quick anger about someone knowing about his eye. Hands from Jay came into the air defensively. "I know. It's a touchy subject but if it helps, I only got the very bare minimum from Founder Silverman. Though, Charlotte said you would be willing to help after she talked to you." _Damn, that girl does work fast when she wants something._

"Don't worry about it. So back to the point on why only you are here?" The change in subject was noted, Jay nodding his head as he cleared his throat.

"Your reputation... is a bit intimidating to most, no offense. There is so much covered that the Founders have blackened towards even towards us that as I said earlier, we only get the most basic background about you. Add the gossip about you and how little you have tried to assimilate with the Institute, talk spreads like wildfire and people start to think you are one-eyed murdering Zaun Model T-800."

 _That's new_. He couldn't help but think that it was pretty cool to be called a terminator but the reasoning behind it was also a bit insulting. "So basically, I'm too scary to work with. Might accidently go nuts and eat a liver or two?"

"I could see that." Vi piped in, the sheriff giving her a quick glance that she ignored. She blew the strands that were caught in her face back as she folded her arms. "As much as I love to see Dark and Gloomy ask more questions, can we hurry this up and all." She walked up to Yin, getting uncomfortably close as she began a facial stare-down. "Besides, I want to see if this punk is all the talk that even Draven has hyped about."

"So I'm guessing you aren't going to tell me what you found?" Vi clicked her tongue, a cocky smirk plastered her face as she stated her words slowly.

"Why should we consult with a detective if he is only an amateur?"

"I could ask the same thing about having a loud-mouth hot head. Isn't that bad trait if you want to build good will?" He goaded, the statement provoking Vi to growl in response.

"Why you..."

Face-to-face confrontation was what Yin knew best. Facing down gang members, criminals and shady individuals that wanted to sell your kidneys were the norm of Yin's nomadic life. That being said, it was quite a surprise to see such a scene unfold unnecessarily as quickly as it was defused. "Vi! You are here to help, not to goad!" Caitlyn's tone was calm, yet held that vicious snap like chiding an obstinate child. She had quickly come between the two as she looked at Vi.

"You know I ain't goading cupcake." Vi quickly answered back, her face seemed genuine with surprise that Caitlyn had intervened. "I was just sizing him up is all." The comment was off-handed but quick to cover her behaviour. The way that Caitlyn took it with more than a disapproving glare meant that she was very used to seeing such an abrasive attitude from the law enforcer.

"You should know better than let your attitude get the best of you."

"But what happens if he is just all talk? Isn't it best to size him up? I want to see what he can do!"

Without listening into the further conversation which had hushed to quieter voices between the two, most likely with Caitlyn coming out with the riot act, Yin progressed his way to the centre of which outlined the bomb area. Crouching down, he brought his nose closer to the ground, sampling what he could smell like a chef sampling the taste of his dish. His eye began to glow red from the shadow of red light that beamed to the floor. The smell was a mixture of tar, burnt plastic and burning wood but there was also a small hint of... almonds?

He turned, looking back at Charlotte, who was now curiously watching him, then to Jay as the two made brief eye contact. "Did your explosive expert say that it was Dynonight?"

Jay's eyes blinked, mouth opened to ask on how he knew until he glanced to see that his right eye glow a bright red hue. "Uhh.. Yes. Ziggs said that it was a mixture between Dynonight and C3. Dynonight gave it the big bang while C3 was used to keep it 'stable' for remote detonation."

His head then turned to Caitlyn, seeing that his sourly first steps with the hot-headed Vi were something that should be mediated through Vi's much calmer foil. "Explosive was pack within something small, like a suitcase right?" The written placed outline gave the size of the bomb. The tense charring outside of the bomb's placement showed that the bomb was used to create as much destruction as possible with no thought about collateral damage. That was seen with the burnt or destroyed pieces of furniture and items that scoured the floor.

"Yes. Charlotte told us that the a brown package that was delivered by the courier and to be given to the Founders. They had left it where they leave all packages to be inspected before being placed on the delivery rack. We were lucky that that no one was injured."

Caitlyn scoffed. "More like a miracle that the same time the administration office was practicing a mock fire evacuation does the bomb explode. Unintentionally, moving the bomb to the inspection area placed it where the highest concentration of people could be killed. We also found that the bomb was triggered through a remote detonator when Ziggs was helping re-build the bomb using whatever bits and pieces we had left." Vi clicked her tongue in agreement.

"I say they got lucky with the dumbest terrorists around." Yin took the information quickly, his eye scanning for any small anomalies but the Piltover Duo plus the Investigation team did a very good job with being as nitpicky as possible in finding as much detail as possible. In fact, it was such a good job that it looked like they had all the facts they needed to find the perpetrator.

"You don't look like you missed anything." Both Caitlyn and Vi were examining, for a lack of a better word, at his eye as its red hue slowly began to dim as Yin scratched his chin. "All the details seem to be accounted for and nothing seems to be overlooked..." He paused. "What did you find out?"

Caitlyn and Vi seemed to look at Jay who had been watching the scene unfold as they both turned to look at each other. Vi shrugged, pointing at Caitlyn. "As I said, I say that these pencil pushers got lucky with dumb terrorists but Caitlyn doesn't think so."

Caitlyn took off her hat, brushing what seem to be invisible dust and dirt off it as she settled it under her arm. Removing something from her pocket, an object quickly approached his face as he snapped a hand to catch. A sigil, white as moonlight, held a sword and shield that crossed in front of a moon. However, closer inspection found that it wasn't charred nor scratched from the blast. "We found this after the fire teams had cleared the building. It laid..." Pointing towards where Yin was kneeling; "in the middle of where the package had originated. We concluded that someone had access to come and place such an object but no one from the fire team saw anyone strange enter nor leave the vicinity." "What do you know about the Swords of the Moon?"

Yin's nose wrinkled. It was bad when someone had to ask about knowledge of a cult and one that was more... extreme than most. "The cult that worships and believes that the Lunari are both the gods and saviour that will cleanse the world of all sinners who do not believe. But I thought they were more reclusive, being more harsh to visitors rather than lashing out. " He wanted to add more but Vi seem keenly ready to jump the gun in cutting him off.

"Before you ask dumb questions, yes we did do background checks on all of them and none are affiliated with the cult. And no, we had permission from the Founders themselves to dig into any leads with no red tape barring us." Vi added on. Caitlyn shook her head as her eyes turn back to Yin.

""They were, but what we found evidence that says otherwise. We found that three shipments of Dynonight heading towards Demacia and piles of C3 held in a Noxian border outpost had been raided by the same group. Both nations have naturally blamed the other for the incidents." Caitlyn looked like she wanted to say more but forcibly restrained herself to finish as Yin raised a brow.

"They also have a note here. Cupcake here found it hidden under the debris with the sigil." Vi added once more, bringing out a crumpled piece of parchment that she hastily unfolded. As Yin took the parchment in hand and through all the creases made, it was quite clear it was an ultimatum made by the Swords of the Moon;

 _With a clear mind, we know full well of the consequences. With enlighten power, we will bring the world to its knees. For they must profess the sin of not worshipping the Moon God and Goddess that watch this land. We are blended with the many, needles within the hay in which we wield the power to strike. For those that repent their sins..._ The note went on and on. It was the typical note made by religious fanaticism. The note professing how the world has been brought under a lie, the sinners must be cleansed and that they will bring more death and destruction later.

The most logical conclusion was the Sword of the Moon was 100% responsible for the incident. It was basically a no brainer with self implicating yourself as the people responsible behind such a devious act but seeing the best detective unconvinced gave Yin pause. In fact, the evidence was a bit too coincidental and straightforward to lead to a quick conclusion. His mind raised with thoughts, thinking back on what had been said and thinking on more the most reasonable explanation. Then, a thought brought an idea. Jumping to his feet, he walked over to where the delivery rack was seemingly put.

"Charlotte. When are the gifts usually inspected?" Charlotte gave a small squeak of surprise. She had been pushed out of the conversation and by her reaction, wasn't expecting to be launched into the conversation.

"A-About every three days or so. We had planned to do inspections later today."

"And nothing you inspected was out of the ordinary?"

Charlotte shook her head. "No, nothing suspicious although it is possible we might have missed something. We usually try to keep daily inspections but with the conference coming up, we been short-staffed for the past two to three weeks. Even though we asked for more bodies to help us with the tide of paperwork, the bigger concern was covering security first." Charlotte's eyes laid on Jay who merely shrugged his shoulders.

"We were asked to keep all security loopholes as tight as possible. Besides, I knew leaving you in charge of the administration office was correct."

Charlotte gave a small pout as she folded her arms. "Don't you even know how bad the overtime was. It probably would have never happened if we had more people." Was the mutter that she spoke under her breath.

"No one got hurt and this event wasn't your fault." Jay said with a hint of exasperation.

"It could have been." muttered from Charlotte quickly silence any further talk from Jay as he gave a frustrated puff through his nose.

"Look. We brought you here because we wanted to double-check and have a fresh set of eyes. Do you have something different or can I get this information out before rumors spread." Jay turned, eyes facing to where Yin was now inspecting the ground. Most of the dirt and debris sat in the middle of the floor with a few, large chunks were impaled to the walls. He picked up some charred dirt kneeling down, rubbing it in his fingers as his mind flew with ideas onto a thought landed on him.

"What if... The explosion was intentional."

Vi scoffed in annoyance. "Going to need to elaborate Detective Obvious."

"I mean the explosion was set to go off when no one was inside. No causalities."

"That makes no sense then. Why wouldn't you jump at the chance to deal as much harm as you can?" Jay interrupted Yin, cutting a hand through the air like swatting a fly. "The Cult has always been of a group of religious fanatics. Who's to say that one of them didn't go off the rail and felt the best way to spread their message was through... this."

"That means you assume that terrorists are irrational and that is a dangerous assumption." Yin snapped back, his tone was a bit harsh for a quick reply to a genuine, although ignorant ideal. "Terrorists already know the cost of their actions. Why do we assume that they do not know when we should be looking to why this benefits them."

"Then tell us how does this benefit them?" Vi asked curiously. She seemed quite interested in his theory and the lack of hostility nor cockiness was a bit refreshing. He thought back to the note. A line that felt out of place, something that implicated a fundamental change in the cult.

"Power... The last known and seen leader of the Sword of the Moon made a public speech that highly emphasized that they will show their power through zealous, but peaceful faith. That was made three years ago on Mount Targon."

"Yes. We spoke to Diana and she had been tasked by Founder Truman to keep tabs on the Cult. She told us that after that speech, they had withdrawn to somewhere more secretive. She had only been able to track them through runners that sought out people that were worthy of being accepted. But it also means that she hasn't been able to find the actual location due to how they usually go through Solari areas to find newer prospects." Caitlyn spoke up.

" Yet, in their note, they say that their power comes from being able to meld with the many. A change of core ideals in a short span of three years is merely impossible. That is not without a sudden power change in who is leading the Cult." He turned to Jay. "Look into all activities that suspected the Swords of the Moon starting from three years after the speech. You might be able to find a trial." Jay nodded, but his face did not look convinced.

"What about the perpetrator?"

"You know who the perpetrators are."

"You know that's not what I meant." Yin grimaced. This was information that he knew from what he could gather was something they weren't going to like. Patting his knees, he stood up once more.

"Most likely a member within the Security Council." Jay's mouth opened, clearly signing that he wanted to argue in which Yin quickly cut him off. "Let me finish."

"The note is highly boisterous in stating that the Cult was able to mend with the many. Most likely means that this member is high enough rank that he has enough access to know the goings and plans of what while also withholds a rank that doesn't bar much suspicion and question from others. The bomb was remotely trigged which means that the perpetrator had to be in view of the administration building. That would explain the perfect timing of the bomb being set off once the building was 'evacuated'."

"You're asking us to search over 40 individuals that have pledged for the safety of the Institute of a note probably made by a hooligan that they might have infiltrated our ranks." Jay complained, through his hands in the air as his hands fell back onto his head.

Yin began to pace, walking through the rubble. "As we established, this bomb is about power. They are showing that they had the power that , if it was their intention, they could kill civilians and create collateral damage. Most likely, this kind of planning would be too much for an individual, and most terrorist cells usually work in groups of four. By the looks of it, they must have had a person within the administration to know what the schedule and a person that was a part of the emergency responders."

He paused, giving the information to set as he laid out his last part of his thoughts. "Most likely, you will be needing to expand your search to the administration members, emergency members and..." Yin turned, pointing at himself. "Newer members like myself."

Jay couldn't help but stamp his feet as he muttered incoherently under his breath. "That means over 200 members to look at. The paperwork would be a disaster not to mention also getting the means and privileges **THAT** we need to convince from the Founders to-."

"I believe that can be arranged." Jay's frustrated ramblings were cut off from that same voice that convinced Yin to come to the league. All eyes turned as vision was laid upon Founder Silverman as he maneuvered his way around all the debris.

"Founder Silverman? What are you doing here?" Jay asked, giving the Founder a quick stand-to attention. The Founder waved his hand, a gesture to standing down as he walked towards him.

"No need for such formalities. I believe we can be flexible of Yin's suggestions." Jay's eyes flashed with surprise.

"But Founder, what he is suggesting-" "Should be looked into and I can have the Piltover Duo and Jayce to help you with any leads that might involve or spell trouble. We can easily postpone further matches until this is resolved." The finality to which Silverman spoke was something truly envious to have. The way he carried himself and the confidence he spoke as if he knew what he was doing was hard to argue with seen by how Jay merely bowed his head in defeat.

Charlotte seemed to step from behind Yin, poking her head as she gave a cheerful smile. "May I ask why you are here Founder?" The Founder gave a quick smile in return as he turned to walk towards Yin.

"Him, of course. I'm here to give him a proposition." _Wait... Me again?_ Yin thought as he gave a confused look.

"Why him?" Charlotte asked for Yin as the Founder finally stopped. It felt the same when they first stood face-to-face with each other when they sat across on the train coming to the league. With a trademark smile and that charismatic voice, Silverman spoke.

"Cause I'm asking Yin to become a True Summoner."

 **A/N:** Welp. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Even through the editing and pre-planning, I realized how much I could write about the investigation and this is the final form of a more condensed version which is somewhat split into Part 1 and 2 before the action sequences. If you enjoyed this story, please favourite and even write a review. I do need the feedback to write better. Enjoy the holidays and have a Happy New Year.


	8. Becoming a True Summoner Part 3

A Summoner's Tale

Becoming a True Summoner Part 3

 _Dirt Trail - Approximately 15 minute walk to Mount Targon_

 _-Yin_

It's a hard pill to swallow when someone is able to convince you to do something you really don't want to do. It's an even harder pill to swallow when that same person uses the same tactics that you would use and does it even better. To say the least I was a bit envious was a total understatement. I even had a speech and argument ready to go but, god damn! Founder Silverman was fiercely efficient at convincing people.

 _A True Summoner_. It has a nice ring to it when I think about it and it gets me closer to what I want. The fast and quick version is that there is a hierarchy within a hierarchy. You first have your list of ranks from Unranked to Challenger. Everyone starts at the bottom of the Ranked ladder and the higher in rank you are, the more prestige you will get. However, there are many who try to climb the ladder of a Summoner to become a **True** then a **Bound** Summoner.

True Summoners are Summoners that are given tasks that would show their 'true' desires and goals, hence the name. The task was to see whether or not the Summoner was fit to join into a society, which is given priority in diplomatic, internal issues and high-stake league matches. Fun fact; There is no actual restriction of who can become a True Summoner so it is possible that lower ranks like Bronze and Silvers can become True Summoners. The only problem is that the process to be chosen is to impress one of the five Founders as they were the only ones that had the power to do so.

Finally, you had Bound Summoners. These Summoners were extremely rare cases as the process to become was a literal search of your mind, body and soul, by an 'ancient' artifact called the Sweeping Soul of Altercation. You had to be a True Summoner to be even considered and out of the 25 years of service the League has been up, only 0.01% of the total population had been considered and selected as a Bound Summoner. Basically, your chances were really fucking low.

But it couldn't help but itch at the back of my mind. I was only here for a few weeks. Sure, apparently I had a 'decent' showing in both my audition and placements from what I gathered but I heard some of the people who were placed at the same time as myself were already in diamond and I'm sitting at Gold 1. Why was I out of all people chosen to become a True Summoner? My credentials speak just as little as my attitude towards others. The more I thought about the less I saw myself about to run into a tree and with a loud thump, I face-planted into one of the straying branches.

"Son of a..." I could feel the sting radiate from my forehead as I seemingly went fast enough that the force felt like an iron-bar was swung at my face. It didn't help both my pride and dignity when I heard a stifled laughter from behind me. Turning, I could see the white-haired Swordswoman called Diana covering her mouth, attempting to keep her stoic composure only to see me and in the fastest switch I have seen, she went back to her... pious attitude.

"What are you looking at... Summoner?" It was funny seeing how much she tried to look angry, she still had the courtesy of adding that slight phrase of politeness to the end of her sentence. It was a close temptation to tease her further but that came to a fast realization that this was the first actual conversation. Short from our initial greetings made by a last minute notice that I was being accompanied, the only interaction we had was a painful and silent hour long train ride to get to this dirt path.

Although we merely kept to ourselves, there was something that I was curious about. It was a bit peculiar that a self-professed Lunari was joining me to go to a Solari-known encampment.

"Why did you join me?" I asked, rubbing my still aching forehead. It was nothing short of common knowledge that Diana's hate for the Solari was both justified and... A bit extreme. Diana merely shrugged, turning her back to me as she began her walk up the path.

"When a Founder asks you for something, you really don't have an option to say no." She answered stoically, waving a dismissive hand as if what she said was enough information to continue. _Huh. So, this is what it feels like..._ I thought to myself. Her statement was an understandable one, especially since my experience always shown to say enough to satisfy, but not enough for further questions. I merely shook my head and started to walk in pace to catch up with her.

The walk became quiet again, the two of us just walking at a comfortable pace as I looked around at the surroundings of the path. The only noise that could be heard that excluded our footsteps was mostly passing birds that flew by. It was quite a sight, seeing beautiful mountain ranges that the tops were coated with white snow. Splashing green coniferous trees backed the mostly was a constant reminder of how beautiful nature could be.

I turned to glance at Diana, it seemed she was taking a particular liking into a colorful bush of flowers that burst with flavors of purple, white and yellow. That brief, soft expression he saw earlier had clearly formed on her face again as she took a longing glance at the bush before snapping her attention forward again. _I think I could get used to seeing that side more._ I thought to myself, not realizing the stupidity of thinking without realizing that I was staring at her for so long that she had taken noticed.

Her face creased back into her natural known frown. Her eyes burned as if she didn't want people to know that she had that kind of side. Her lips tightened in a slow, awkward squirm as she looked to be generating what she wanted to say. Most likely she was trying to form some sort of question that held some snappy insult to it.

"Are you actually cool with this?" I said, interrupting what she was going to say. That sudden flash of surprise across her face was just as enlightening to my own surprise to see that kind of reaction. _Was she expecting that I would believe she would just go at the word of a Founder?_ I thought to myself as the next words spewed out of my mouth. "Wait... You can't be kidding right?"

Diana's glance looked away, taking in some other part of the mountain range view. When she spoke, her walking stopped. Her arms folded like a systematic algorithm as she gave a soft huff of air. "It is nothing for you to be concerned."

 _Nothing to be concerned..._ I thought in confusion. I stopped my walking as well, turning myself around to give an actual better look. Just by glancing at her, it was easy to tell that her body was uncomfortable. Arms twitched while her fingers danced with each other and with her own hair as she fidgeted on the spot. _Ah. I scored a nerve in her._ Diana's expression showed how I was playing a fine line of lighting a match closely to highly flammable explosives in the dark. One can't go anywhere without the light to show the path. Yet, if you are not careful, you will ignite the explosives.

"I would think that anyone that has been exiled and placed to be executed would have some reservations of coming to a Solari camp." I stated, meticulous of the fact that I might end up with a sword in my face. Rationally, I'm playing with someone that is a literal, social hermit but curiosity was getting to me. No one with such a polarizing view towards another wouldn't just be accepting to go and talk to the other so easily, especially in the case of Diana.

"What I believe isn't relevant to what you need to do." I would be a hypocrite for calling her out on how she was using such an easily seen deflection to hide her reluctance to answer. Her tone sounded like she was stating things off a script. Her eyes darted between trying to match my stare and looking at the ground. It was watching a conflict of emotions that she was trying so hard to hide.

"What you believe is relevant to what I must do." It was tempting to add a 'no offense' to the end but when you are talking to a person who has the title 'Scorn of the Moon' and has no social skills, passive-aggressiveness was not such a great idea.

"And why do you need to care so much about what happens to me?" She snapped back, a part of her anger was starting to seethe through her calm façade. It was the classic rebuttal question to give anyone that was a bit too prying, especially with how I seen some male Summoners attempt to talk to most female champions.

"Since if this is how you react when someone asks you if you are ok, then it leaves me to wonder what you might do when we walk into the camp. You might be my guide and you might not think I need to care but what happens is my responsibility." _Which is totally not true but I rather know what will happen then what might happen._ I added internally.

That body of conflicting emotions that I had taken note of earlier were now starting to pour through Diana. Her eyes lit with anger, her face contradicted that with a flash of either sadness or depression and her body, especially seen in her arms shook with nervous energy.

"Why do you care?" How poetic that this kind of question was usually the last line of defense. It begged that you would be most certain that what you say was the right answer. Open enough that making the smallest of mistakes would end your answer being rebuffed immediately.

"I care about what happens in that camp and if your feelings about the Solari get in the way, then it becomes my problem. Regardless of what you say, what you feel is something I care about. No one has been able to contain their feelings like a stone wall. Anything that is my problem, I like to deal with it right away. " _Even though I shouldn't care._ Her face of disbelief was matched with the same energy of how much I didn't want to gag on my own words. My words were terribly not convincing but it was the most I could say without breaking my own façade.

"Then tell me, wise Summoner. How do you deal with such feelings when you are exiled by your friends and family." Her voice had finally broken down. Anger and sadness now mixed in her tone as she shouted at me with full force. She wasn't holding back and she clearly thought I wasn't holding back.

I had to sit and think for a few moments. All my life I ran from my problems, only solving those that were easily fixable with violence or skewed words. Solve those that had an easy formula, not those that are easily uncertain has always been my train of thought.

"Don't let it define you. If you let them sit and fester, then you will never be able to move on to what you really want. It's hard to forgive but if you take that and use it to make a better difference then you will show that you are stronger than they are."

 _How are people able to do this all time?_ This felt too cliché. This was more of Founder Silverman's territory. Fancy words of good intentions skewed to make some sort of inspiration speech. Maybe his intentions were starting to rub off me; I couldn't help but shiver at that thought. Even now, I don't know what more to say.

Without an answer, Diana turned and began to walk again. We were about 15 minutes away from the camp and the silence that fell between us stayed for the rest of walk. The time in the walk felt like as if Zilean had hijacked what universal time is and slowed it to a snail's pace.

I couldn't discern what she was thinking. Her face was unreadable, considering I had to read faces for so many years. I couldn't tell if she had bought into my shtick or if she was considering the amount of bullshit I had spewed. But what was noticeable was how her emotions ceded and she had transformed back into her stoic, pious behavior before the conversation.

Only when we walked over a hill did we find a Solari sign post pitched in the dirt. Underneath, written in Rakkor, the sign warned any who wandered were entering Solari encampment. I sighed at the relief of at least making it to the site. At least it would serve as a small distraction from the awkward silence.

"Do you believe what you said?" The words broke through like a knife cutting butter. I shrugged my shoulders. "It depends if you want to believe it or not. As you said, my opinion doesn't matter." I stated, using the exact same tactics to rebuff her as she did to me. It took a lot of energy not to turn to see what she looked like when I heard a small click of her tongue.

"Then why say that you care about what I feel? I don't need your pity or sympathy." Her tone had that steel that made her words precise and to the point. She could be quite convincing in any argument if she practiced that tone more. I couldn't help and shake my head. Those words that Grand Summoner Kei told me kept echoing in my mind. Out of all times, that was what I was thinking of right now.

"Because I know what it feels like to be exiled. Told that I was nothing but a hindrance from my peers and discarded to disappear in the wind." The words rolled bitterly out of my mouth before I could stop them. It was that sudden gut of regret that rolled through my stomach as I cursed to myself. _I'm getting emotional again._

"How did you deal with it?" A soft voice? From Diana... Must have meant that my facade had cracked to show her what I was really feeling. A small smirk tugged at my face as I finally looked at her. My fake, small smile matching her inquisitive eyes as I looked towards the encampment.

"Never said I did."

 _Base of Mount Targon: Rakkor (Solari) Encampment._

 _Diana_

Her first impression of the Summoner who she had to accompanied was socially secluded. It was the complete opposite of what she had heard from what others had said, especially listening to Lux. Usually, that kind of talk was something Diana would dismiss but the endless non-stop talk finally crumbled her inquisitive nature to know. From the walk, his eyes were held with clouded emotions masked by his even more clouded facade. It felt like she was watching a dog being held back by a chain that was constantly yanked.

Even within the conversation, his good words of best intentions felt off at best. It was like he was even trying to believe what he was saying. My mind sculpted around her thoughts as they walked to the epicenter of the village, trailing just behind the Summoner as the pace they took slowly stopped once more.

The two were surrounded by the ever cautious glares of the villagers, mostly aimed with easily seen hostile intentions at me. Yin kept his eyes on the much older woman that had greeted him with silence. Her brown robes looked well used, stitches and scratches showed the work that the clothing had been put through.

"I can presume you are the Elder of this village." Yin stated, giving a small but respectful bow which the elder seemed to reciprocate. The hood was low enough that it covered the upper portion of the elder's face, only able to see her lips and the ever growing wrinkles on her cheeks that came with old age.

"Indeed Summoner of the Institute. I am Elder Navid and I cordially welcome you to our home." She said, her voice politically polite. Yin nodded his head in thanks as he stretched out his arms.

"Diana and I do not mean to impose in your home, Elder Navid. We were wanting to know where the direction of a Temple that is close to you and we will be on our way."

The hood protected what one could see from her eyes, but her head turning was the only indication that she took a look at me. I wasn't surprised to see that her lips formed into disgust and held back anger as she bit back what she wanted to immediately say.

"Ah... Well, it was to our knowledge that you were informed that our requested mediator will be accompanying you to the heretic's temple." She spoke. That all changed when she spoke, the positive bravado lost, when she gave the shortest of glances at Diana. "However, it stays here."

That was a first. Most camps that were high believers of the Solari would normally just dismiss that she existed and ignore her completely. Their treatment was to treat her like she was erased from their knowledge and memory although, it wasn't a great step forward to be treated as if she was a thing. It was easy to simply scoff and a flip it off as if there was dirt in my hair; I wasn't going to allow such drivel to insult her beliefs of the Moon.

"I was never informed of such an arrangement. And as much as your beliefs are your own, **IT** is called Diana." Yin's voice was clipped, clearly irked by the treatment. _Wait, what?_ I tilted my head to the side. _He actually shows emotions?_ Was the last thing I thought. All his actions felt as if he was just a robotic shell of a human.

"I don't-" "It would be amicable for us if we kept it at a... respectful level" Yin interrupted both myself and the Elder at the same time. He clearly had taken the assumption of what we were going to say.

"Summoner..." His head turned with a questioning look. I didn't like to be 'looked after'. In fact it is annoying as hell when people played white knight. Yet, looking at the Summoner, it was like he had already planned what might happen and was playing out the most optimal solution. His face gave no room to be questioned on his reasons but for now, I will play the Summoner's game.

The Elder, on the other hand, was seemingly more surprised. Her lips contorted from a mixture of faint anger and embarrassment though it was contained to an impressive grimace of practiced patience. "I.. understand... We were informed by a Summoner Jay Vandergard."

The change of subjects was quick, no one seemingly wanted to linger on such an awkward moment. Yin gave a confused look back at me. "Diana. Were you informed of this?"

I scoffed out loud in annoyance, shaking my head. _What? Do you suspect me of hiding information..._ "No."

"Hm. Interesting..." Yin paused, scratching his cheek.

"Elder Navid. If you please be so kind to show Diana the location in which we will be meeting with your requested mediator. I will be needing to make a scroll call to figure out this miscommunication." For one to be held as the sigil of wisdom, it was quite a funny scene to watch the Elder flinch at the demand, coated lightly as a request, to be directed around like a scolded child.

The Elder didn't answer, giving a stiff nod in response as she didn't even take a single glance as she turned and gave a quick wave to follow. Call it paranoia, but there is a bit of warranty to slightly hesitate to follow someone that would be more than happy to kill you on sight. I couldn't help but give a quick glance at Yin.

"No worries, I'll be there soon. Besides, you are technically under League jurisdiction so they can't touch you anyways." I really wanted to squeeze in a quick comment of concern. But, Yin had already pre-occupied himself with fumbling out the scroll that was held in his pocket. It would seem that I would have to ask him later. Rolling my eyes and with the might of caged frustration in me, I turned to begrudgingly followed the Elder.

 _Why am I here?_ She That was something I had been wondering throughout this whole walk. The prospect of going to see a Lunari Temple was enticing but it only sounded convincing with what the Founder told her. **_You will find what you seek_**. _Like the Summoners at the Institute knew what I wanted._ Grumbling internally to myself to keep my thoughts in check.

They thought what I was after was just petty revenge. Even from their Champion's insight, they kept telling me that my anger was just petty revenge. It wasn't petty revenge! I spat back to them. This 'petty revenge was my answer! My Crusade! My Crusade was my vengeance. For all the lies, the deceits and the betrayal that led to the humiliation that left me with no friends and no family. I thought they would stand and help me but they left me in the dark like a useless mutt. My hands whitened from the tightening of my grip, giving a soft dull painful sensation that pulled me out of my thoughts.

The Elder was seemingly standing in front of a lavishly, large tent. The fabric was colored from the spectrum of the sun, giving such an eyesore view. Insignias of the Solari were also encased and covered most of the fabric as the Elder merely gestured towards the entrance. "Here" Was all I heard before the Elder quickly escorted herself out of my view.

 _Well… At least it looks nice and cozy._ Taking one more glance around, out of both paranoia and habit, I finally stepped inside. The inside was lavishly decorated. It was made to give that homey feeling with the snug chairs and couches with the small assortment of a bowl of fruit that occupied the small table in the center. It felt as though you can have a party of 10 and still have more room for more.

My resolve crumbled as I stepped to dive into one of the couches. It was one of the few rare moments where I could relax in peace. Throwing myself onto one of the couches, once I had double-checked that no one was watching, I couldn't help but release a soft sigh of relief into the soft cushions. Although the walk was no problem, the length and tediousness of the dirt road had began to ache in my thighs as I slowly massaged the sore muscles. The lavish furniture and the quality of high end refreshments and fruits seemed a bit much, but I wasn't going to complain.

Giving another sigh, I rolled onto my back, the pillows meshing into my back as the softness enveloped around my body. Only the sound of footsteps awoke this short time of relaxation as I shot up from her seat. _That must be the Summoner ._ I stretched her arms and neck, the wave of relief passing through I began to roll my shoulders.

The stretching was maintained until I could hear the stepping of footsteps finally enter the tent behind me. "Welcome back Sum-" She turned, not finding the Summoner I was 'guiding' but;

"Leona?" "Diana?" We both said at the same time. For that brief moment, there was that pang of silence in which both parties were still trying to process what had just happened. Then in a flash, both sprang into action on instinct, they both grabbed their weapons at lightning speed as I armed myself to face the intruder.

"What in Valoran are you doing here, you uptight bitch!" I sneered, my sword propped in front as Leona backed behind her shield with her sword drifting on the top of her large shield.

"I could ask the same with you, heretic." Leona said in return, matching the hostility.

 _No fucking way…_ It was when my brain finally worked out the pieces to solve the current event. "You have to be fucking joking." She moaned in frustration. _Out of all people…_

"Sadly, it is no joke." Leona remarked. "But it doesn't mean that I will be escorting the likes of you to the Temple."

It wasn't even their own religious temple and they were trying to prohibit an area that was sacred to me. "I will not let you destroy that Temple with your filth and beliefs. That belongs to the Lunari. Not the Solari." My grip tightened around as I snapped back at her.

"I was never asking for your permission, heretic." Leona threatened. Her arms also tensed in the same fashion as Diana. Her words plucked at my nerves like a swarm of bees. They will not impede on my quest for knowledge and vengeance. And I will kill anyone that gets in my way!

"Then, stop me if you can, you sun whore!" Diana goaded back.

The two warriors stood still, waiting and watching the other to see if they made first move. Time seemed to slow, ticking slowly into eternity as the two readied their stances in silence.

 ** _Whoosh_**. The curtain opened with lightning speed. As much as I didn't want to move my eyes, instincts kicked in to move to assess whether it was a new threat or not. All I saw was the Summoner holding an apple, carelessly munching a piece of the fruit in his mouth as he looked at us with fearless calm.

"I leave for one moment and this is what I get." Yin stated, before grabbing another mouthful of apple to munch on. I was confused and when I took a quick glance at Leona, she also held the same feeling of disbelief. The Summoner's eyes merely glanced at the two of us as he put what was left of the apple on one of the small empty bowls as he wiped his hands.

"So once you two are done acquainting yourself with such a fruitless argument, there is a Temple I need to go look at and I rather get this done before sundown."

 _Lunari Temple – 15 minutes after the confrontation._

 _Narrated_

It's nothing short of a miracle that the past 15 minutes felt more of catching oneself hopping into a very, heated and hostile fight of words. It was the seemingly better alternative then having to deal with constantly keeping two people separate from attempting to kill each other. Yin was just thankful that his timely intervention had stopped what could have turned into a political quagmire. As much as every fiber in his body told him to reprimand the two, he had stopped short of himself knowing that in those circumstances, he would have done the same thing.

 _Not the best but also not the worse of situations._ Yin thought to himself as he took a short glance at his two traveling companions. As of this moment, the two were giving the other the cold shoulder. Each kept their fair distance apart, the body and presence of Yin used as a mediating space between them. It was a frightening fact to be used a obstacle that sat between two highly trained warriors.

Even when they had made it to the entrance of the Temple, although it was clear that they were absorbing the paintings and literature inscribed into the Temple, it was apparent they were doing their best to stay out of the other's view. They had taken their time in what appeared to be the entrance hall, waiting patiently for the two to thoroughly inspect the surroundings.

It was a surprise to see that even Leona was taking just as much time as Diana in looking at the Lunari inscriptions, something he thought she would simply brush by due to her Solari background. On the other hand, she was very vocal in stating that her blatant curiosity was to check for any of the heretic-made traps, even through Diana's insistence that no one was that fanatical to place traps in a place of worship.

As for Yin, he was waiting at what appeared to be the entrance towards the prayer hall. The large, oak doors blocked the entrance, marbled in some sort of polishing fluid in which was shown off by a clear sheen. His right eye scanned around the room as he could feel and see the flow of information transplant into his right eye. His eyes had seemingly glanced upon Leona, who had taken the time to stare at him as he raised a brow.

 _Ah. This is the first time she is actually taken the time to 'see' me instead of constantly looking at the back of my head._ Yin scratched his head as their eyes met, Leona tilting her head to the side in curiosity instead of looking away.

"See something interesting?" He asked dryly. Leona simply shook her head in response, taking a few steps closer. Her pupils raced back and forth as she took her time in inspecting Yin. Her head turned back to face Diana and even though no words were spoken, their eyes met for what seemed to be the first time after the little spat.

Yin could feel something in the air change. From the more desolate, quiet nature to something that felt more inquisitive. A curiosity fueled that featured Yin as the main attraction.

"Scratch that. I change my mind and I don't want to know." The thoughts and feelings gave Yin the idea of a conversation he was not willing to talk about. His mind and body was becoming more anxious to finish this as quickly as possible now. He turned his back to the two as he looked at the door. He gave a firm, hard push on the door, putting his weight behind his arms as the doors did not budge. A couple more tries only found himself failing to open the doors as his frustration turned into realization, his thoughts openly clear through a long sigh escaping his lips.

"What seems to be the problem?" Leona spoke, her footsteps landing to one side of him as she took a glance at the door.

"The door is a test." Diana's voice was more distant, mostly in par of keeping the same cordial space between her and Leona as both pairs of eyes turned to see her leaning back on one of the many pillars that supported the Temple. Leona looked back at the door, her eyes only finding what she presumed to be Lunari inscription on the wall.

"Mind explaining yourself..." Leona stopped herself from having a more abrasive tone. She was still unsure about the Summoner. He had not reprimanded them for any of their actions, but had gone and ignored the confrontation between her and the heretic.

"Why should I explain anything to you? It's not like you don't have anything against my beliefs." Diana pointedly snapped back. She was able to stay calm but there was a clear sign of annoyance of being told what to do from the Solari.

Leona rose a hand, in response, opening her mouth to rebuttal but no words escaped her as she gave a second thought. "The Founder told me that I would find what I seek, so I will find what that is."

Diana's eyes lit up. _This possibly can't be a second coincidence._ She thought. However, that did not stop her from letting the concoction of confusion and anger vented through her tone. "Are you now just saying things just to spite me? Saying things exactly what the Founder told me just to show how great you are?"

"What?! I did not say anything to provoke such a response, here-" Leona bit her lip, holding back what she was so accustomed to calling her as Diana jumped on that chance.

"Can't called me a heretic? You, sun-loving whore! Always sucking up to everyone and anyone just like how you are acting to impress the Summoner!" Pointing an accusatory finger at Leona sparked an equal response of anger. As quickly as Leona was trying to accommodate for Diana, did Leona slap the Scorn of the Moon's pointing finger down as her tone raised in anger.

"Says the one always acting like an angsty, hormonal teenager! Who are you to speak when you should be under chains for the crimes you have committed?" The two still held their distance, but the anger within the conversation held a magnetic pull that was dragging them closer inch by inch.

"Like you can talk if you are sitting up from that high horse of yours! Your so-called peaceful Solari culture destroyed mine!"

"Don't you dare spout hypocrisy at me when you killed 20 of my elders and fellow Solari! You spoke out against those that brought you in! They gave you a home and a family , but you went out of your way to destroy what they have built!"

"Don't you fucking forget you Solari killed an entire society! All I did was find the facts and truths about what happened and look at what your proud elders did! They wanted to execute me for asking questions!"

The anger roared with the impact of two powerful monsoons colliding into each other as they had braced themselves for the verbal fight rather than the physical one. The two fell silent, both simmering in the words of the other as they took a pause to catch their breathing.

 ** _Clunk!_** "Fuck! That hurts like a..!" The conversation dropped, the two pairs of eyes dashed towards the sound of a breaking mason jar. The heated exchange had made them temporarily forget about the third party member of the group as silence suddenly bellowed through the hall. However, the flippant outburst from Yin shattered the seriousness that the conversation was taking them. All they could respond was to blink in surprised awe as Yin's face seem to take a double back on what he just did.

"Are you alright... Summoner?" Leona was the first to snap out of her trance as Yin scratched his chin, his face showing a mixture of emotions that was hard for the two champions to decipher. Diana's attention snapped back to reality, but her response was much less tacit for the well being of Yin.

"Our conversation isn't-" "Over, I know." Yin interrupted, his handing posing a imaginary barrier between the two champions as he looked back at the now, gaping hole in the door.

"I have feeling that Founder..." "Silverman." Leona interjected which was answered by a quick nod by Yin. "Yes... Founder Silverman probably set you two wonderful personalities together wanting to show how you two are quite similar."

"Why do you care?" Diana snarled back, her anger still boiling as it was now shifted over to Yin. Yin opened his mouth, as if he had the answer prepared but instead did not talk. Instead, he shifted his hand over to point to the new Lunari inscription that was set over the gaping hole.

"Hold that thought. First translate this for me." Diana looked ready to pipe up in a burst full of emotion but Yin's eyes darting between her glare and the inscription gave just the bare minimum to hold it back. Her eyes quickly darted towards the inscription, her eyes slightly defogging from her anger as she read further.

"It says... Place your hand into the abyss and answer a question from those within." She stated, her anger still clear in her tone but it was overlapped by her more calm facade. Leona darted her look towards Yin with a mild look of concern.

"How do you know that it's not a trap?" Diana sighed as she waved her arms in the air.

"This is a Holy Temple made for the Lunari. It's a hall of prayer... We aren't playing Ez the explorer." Leona only shook her head in disagreement.

"Then why does Yin have to-"Diana clicked her tongue in annoyance, cutting off Leona's comment.

"I also forgot to add' Only those that are not affiliated can take this test.' Meaning you nor I can take it even if we wanted to. Which means the Summoner must do it." _That last statement held concern?_ Yin thought to himself as he gave a small smirk.

"I'm so glad to see that the two of you are so concerned for my well being." He noted dryly as he began to roll up his left sleeve.

"We are not!" Diana and Leona answered while glaring at each other when they realized they had answered simultaneously which Yin gave a shrug. Even with his experience, he couldn't help but hesitate for a moment as his brain racked in different thoughts. _Imagine if my hand would get sliced off. Then I become a one-arm..._ The thought in Yin's mind ended with a mischievous idea.

Taking a couple breaths, he psyched himself with enough courage as he quickly slid his hand through as he felt something lock his whole left arm in place. "See, nothing bad- AAAAAAAAAA" He contorted his face into a mixture of pain and horror as he began to hyperventilate, giving a deathly scream.

The two champions raced from their spots, dashing in quick response to the sudden screams of the Summoner. Instinctual panic drowned out the fires of anger as they took a hold of Yin to attempt to pull him out.

"Summoner!" Leona's face fell with uncertainty as she gave that same look at Diana. "You said it was not a trap!"

"I-I-It wasn't supposed to be a trap! All it does was lock your arm which just monitors whether you are lying or not!" Diana hastily answered, reciprocating the same amount of uncertainty as Leona.

"What do we do then?!" Diana turned, a brief pause of realizing that the Solari was asking for her help. _Never mind! Focus!_ Diana drove the thought to the back of her mind as she pointed above the gaping hole.

"Use your damn light to open a giant hole there. These things are connected through cogs so we can easily reverse it there." Leona looked genuinely surprised. What Diana was asking for was to;

"You asking me to deface your Temple though." Diana gave that annoying click of her tongue out of habit as she scoffed.

"Right now. I'm more worried about us being blamed for killing a Summoner than defacing this pile of... rock." The screaming had turned into a small fit of giggles. Leona and Diana's face fell with disbelief as Yin's fit of giggles turned into full laughter. His hearty laughter made him unequipped to deal with the growing glares and the sudden agreement the two champions had as they came down upon him with vengeance.

 ** _Thump! Thump!_** Two loud hard punches to his chest send him reeling back as his laugh was cut short with radiating pain as he coughed from the punches. _Ok... Note to self... Don't piss off the two most pious people in the planet, especially when they are together._ Yin heaved, the wind in his lungs felt as if they were vacuumed out as he took another breath of air to calm his erratic breathing.

"See... All the same." Yin wheezed with great effort as he swallowed what felt to be a mouthful of liquid.

"I fail to see what lesson you were trying to show us if you were wanting to trick us." Leona said dryly, clearing showing a face of distaste as Diana only nodded in agreement. Yin waved his hand dismissively only to clutch his chest in pain.

"Clearly, he thought it would funny to trick us." Diana added, folding her arms with an un-impressed face.

"Yet, you misunderstood my trick for sudden danger. Why?" The two looked at each with perplexity.

"That seems redundant to ask... You showed signs of being in danger." Diana stated flatly as Yin gave a small chuckle.

"Yet, I wasn't in danger. I was playing a trick on you." "Clearly seen by how much you were laughing..." Yin looked at Leona as he gave a small smile.

"Exactly the point isn't it? You don't know I was tricking you until you saw me laughing. You got to see and find out from my perspective. Yet, we rarely do this. Why? Because, looking at the other side means we need to listen and understand where they are also coming from. Seems simple but then we add on our impressions of the person, our biases towards or against their beliefs and everything else that fits with what we think of others. Then the question becomes how do we try to keep ourselves neutral so we can listen to those we might disagree or despise. Interesting food for thought right?" Yin stated.

Diana seemed to keen to pipe in again but this time held back her comment, only looking at the inscription again as Yin gave a shrug. "Whatever you want to say, you should question as such Scorn of the Moon. Too bad it says I must not lie. Truth is so much less objective to saying not to lie." Yin mused to himself as Leona could only look back in concern. Only when their eyes met for the second time did they realize they were both thinking the same thing.

 ** _Why do you the things that you do?_**

 _Ha. I guess I couldn't run from that question forever._ Yin thought, bowing his head down in contemplation. _Leave it to the Founder..._ Yin sighed internally as he thought. He knew his answer earlier to Diana was fallacious at best, not even Yin could come to bear what he spewed out.

"I'm selfish really..." The words barely audible, yet Yin paused. His lips were beginning to chap and he licked them quickly during this moment. _Yeah... It seems close enough._ "I'm selfish because if I allow the same circumstances to happen to others, then I am no better than the people that I despise." He attempted to move his arm, feeling a small bit of space that he could wiggle his arm but not enough that he could pull it out. Internally, he sighed to himself. He didn't want to open up his life. This wasn't a classic soap opera, this is reality and reality burns the shit of the optimistic.

"Then tell us why you are selfish then?" Diana asked. Her tone matched her steel stare but there was something in her tone that also made it her look like she was ready to understand. Yin saw her lean on the wall, close to where Yin was stuck now.

"You can say it's my own punishment for what I have done in my past. My... Personal atonement in much lighter terms. I broke a promise a very long time ago and I rather do anything else that any sensible good person would do rather than face what the promise that I have broken." He looked up, his words had now capsulated the attention of both champions.

 ** _Clink..._** The sounds of gears rewinding shattered the air as Yin could slowly but surely pull his now free left arm out of the hole as two final locks slammed open as the doors creaked forward. The first thing that entered their senses was the waft of death and decomposing bodies. Reflex brought each of the three to bring a hand to cover their mouth and nose as the crack of light began to pour into the stuffed room.

The buzzing of flies resonated with an echoing hum as the movement of doors finally locked in place as light flooded in. For all Yin had seen, it took all of his focus and effort to not gag and throw up on the spot. Glancing over to Leona and Diana also made him feel slightly better he wasn't the only one perturbed by the scene.

A first rough estimate could easily count fifty or so bodies strewn out around the prayer hall. Most of the bodies littered the entrance of the door, positioned as if;

"They were trying to escape." Yin muttered to himself. Bodies looked like they were decomposing for more than a month with blood splatters that had now cemented itself into the furniture and flooring. Most looked charred black, as though they had been doused with some sort of gas and lit on fire. Organs that were spilling out of some of the bodies were now shriveled, black messes of tissue similar to severed body parts that had been melted down by the fire and the flies.

"When was the last time you were able to keep up with one of their Runners?" Glancing at Diana, her face too tunneled on one of the more smaller decomposing bodies. Yin took a step, it was obviously a young child, no older than 10 years old and the child had been cut down with no mercy. Placing a hand on her shoulder, giving a gently but firm squeeze broke Diana's trance as she looked at Yin.

"A-a-about a month ago. Maybe a month and a half." Diana spoke. Her eyes wanted to say more but to her credit, she was now being the same tight-lipped personality that she was known for.

"Don't place this as your fault, Scorn of the Moon." Leona voiced diplomatically. Diana simply kneeled, bowing her head down for a brief moment of prayer as she mumbled softly enough that it was incoherent.

"They knew that this cult was a liability." Yin stated, walking cautiously around the bodies as he made his way around the 'scene'. No bodies looked... intact. Either they were charred to a nice deep colour of black or bodies seemed severed beyond compare. Lifting one of the dead bodies cautiously, Yin could also see numerous holes that protruded the body's skin. "Killed by execution..."

"Let me bury them... Please." Diana piped up, looking down at another one of the bodies as her face looked conflicted with both anger and sadness. _I technically don't have any say in that... We are in Solari territory._ Yin thought to himself. Summoners had places of power in terms of diplomacy and even that was trickled down politics in which the power doesn't mean much at all.

"I'll help you with their burial." Leona stated over Yin's musings. She rose a hand, something that Diana wanted to infer was cut off as she pointed up to the sky. "Only this once, by the power of the Sun to watch me, I will help."

Diana looked lost for words. It was uncalled for even the cheerleader of the Solari to agree to help the Lunari. Biting her lower lip, she tossed her hair to side. It was her only chance to give these people who followed the Lunari a proper burial that represented their culture.

"Fine, I accept... Radiant Dawn." Diana said, pausing to look at Yin as a small smile drew on his face. He only shook his head as he turned around. He made his way to the dais, a lonely body covered in what seemed to be very expensive ornaments and clothing lied on the chair. The face was burned beyond recognition and the body was missing all 10 fingers and toes. An amulet dangled off the neck of the body as he took careful timing to take off the amulet. The copper material was shaped in the crescent shape of the moon, having lavish Lunari writings embroidered in gold.

His scroll began to vibrate in his jacket pocket. He ignored the ringing sensation as he rotated the amulet, inspecting every curve and dent that he could see in the amulet. His eyes set upon a small button, indented within the amulet. Pressing the button, a small click popped the amulet to open like a book. Inside, a pristine piece of folded paper untouched by the violence of the environment.

Another buzz, the persistent vibration in his jacket pocket in which Yin hissed a breathe out as he reached down into his pocket to grab as he took the paper out and set the amulet back on the body occupying the dais. The paper seemed to hold some sort of rune, allowing the writer(s) to scribble whatever they wanted without the restriction of the small piece of parchment. _No locks. Someone didn't think this would fall into another person's hands._ Yin thought as he flicked the paper open. Inside, blueprints of the Institute of War flooded out as he looked at different drawings with excessive notes that talked about the efficiency of the best well-laid bomb. However, what caught his eye the most was a date, circled and underlined many times, an attempt to show its importance to however it was suppose to be given to.

 _The fuck..._ His eyes scanned, darting left and right. The more he read, the more his blood began to freeze. His scroll began to glow a light blue, stating a sent message. He had to pry his eyes off for a moment as he took a brief moment to read what the message was.

 **To Summoner Kyle YinYue,**

 **You have been awarded with the honor of hosting as the mediator for the 101st Peace Conference on the 25th day of Maius, 25 CLE from now. This has been enacted by an unanimous vote made by the Founders which was suggested by Grand Summoner Jay Vandergard. Please report to Founder Vannakis once you have found what you seek.**

His eyes dilated, looking back at the pristine paper as he realized what had just happened. The date circled was the same date of the conference. He had just stumbled onto a plot to blow up the Peace Conference and now he was right in the middle of it all.

 **A/N:** The more I write, the more I feel cathartic about writing. I do hope that those that have followed me and been reading my story have been enjoying my learning process of writing and editing better. If you like to give me feedback, that's great. If you could possibly share with others about my writing so I could get their feedback as well, that is also great. Otherwise, have a great day and hopefully I can reduce a three-month update to under a month or so update after my exams finish in April. Enjoy!


	9. Becoming a True Summoner Part 4

A Summoner's Tale

Becoming a True Summoner Part 4

 _-Yin_

 _Inside the Office of Founder Vannakis (3 hours before the Conference)_

First impressions of the office that I stood in came in the words of quaint, yet had the feeling of home. It resembled what I would think any office would look like, just with a stylish flair of the old. A lone chandelier in the middle, which hovered over a wooden, polished desk with a couple of chairs that were set on opposing sides of the desk.

I probably should concede that I wasn't in the mood for such trivialities though. If anything, I was most likely blinded by how I was now embracing my frustrations at the moment. Whether it was from the fact that I was getting sick of the impassive voice of the Founder or that the events that have brought me to this point would screw with my Summoner's career was something I had forgo momentarily

These feelings of frustration boiled to its peak, my hands came down with fury as I slammed the desk surface in front of me. Objects jumped into the air from the sheer force as they wobbled back into their original positions. However, Founder Vannakis who was sitting behind the desk did not flinch nor showed she was not perturbed by my actions as I huffed out in anger.

"You still haven't told me why I have been chosen to be a mediator! It's quite apparent that I have very little to no experience to be one and I have only been at the Institute just under a month."

Hindsight would tell me that yelling, especially yelling at a Founder, was not the best of ideas. But when you get suddenly blindsided by the job you were asked to do and find that what I was looking at career-ending suicide, then I like to say my anger is highly justified. Then again, I had been arguing with Founder Vannakis for the past thirty minutes trying to squeeze some sort of solid answer out of her.

She folded her arms, her light blonde hair flowed down her shoulders as she fixed her light-blue eyes at me. She still held that beauty of youth, the showing of small gray patches on her hair was the only notice of her growing age.

"Most Summoners wished to be in your position." She seemed to re-iterate, leaning back in her chair as I rolled my eyes. My hands stayed on the desk, helping my stability as I leaned forward to annunciate the next sentence,

"As I said... I'm not most people. And I'll repeat this point till your damn ears bleed; Relinquish my role as mediator for-" The chair screeched as it was pulled back as it interrupted my train of thoughts. I could feel a sudden push of energy radiating out from the Founder, her hands slamming the table just as I as we stood face-to-face.

"Enough with this charade! It has been already decided that you are more than qualified to mediate this conference! Finding another on such short notice is also highly improbable!"

My mouth open on instinct, a need to immediately argue back her point in response. Yet, the Founder's stare looked to seem as if she had more things to say. Transforming what I wanted to say into a inaudible huff, I folded my arms as I watched her light-blue eyes not lose focus on me.

"Though prior incidents might make some believe that you may not be fit, it has been determined that you have certain skills that could bring a unique perspective to this conference." Though Vannakis face seemed peeved, her tone held a lightness and understanding to the situation. It had this disarming tone which if one were to relied on their initial reaction, would agree with what Vannakis was saying.

"I fail to see that point. Prior incidents see me more as a short-tempered, violent person rather than someone fit for mediating." My response attempted to be as cordial as possible, but my disbelief for the answer still resonated as Vannakis seemed to irk at my response.

"Mediation comes in many forms. There is no set rule of what is proper mediation and what is improper." My face contorted into slight annoyance as my arms folded, my fingers tapping my forearms, as an attempt to vent my agitated energy.

"If mediation is defined from beating thugs into total submission for information or extorting key information using any and all tactics regardless of its taboo, then I fail to see your reasoning." My reply was dry, oozing with sarcasm as I kept my unrelenting defiance. My experience was biased to the side that survival was always the primary motivation if I wanted to see the next day.

A 'Tsk' sound escaped Vannakis lips. Her face was beginning to crack under the unvented frustrations that welled in her. My attitude showed my major distrust in her words, which was amplified when I was constantly challenging her question by question. Her arms folded together, her eyes alit with irritation as she tussled her hair.

"Such audacity! What Founder Silverman sees in you is beyond comprehension." The statement was bitterly muttered, just audible for my ears to pick up on her comment as a pang of anger flashed in my mind as I couldn't stop myself from giving a snappy remark.

"Then tell me why I am **really** here." My voice emphasized the 'really' of my sentence. It had seem as if pleasantries had disappeared from Vannakis as she gave an uncharacteristic glare as her knuckles whitened underneath her barely hidden frustration.

"I've already told you the reasons, yet you seem to dislike any role that assumes any shred of responsibility." It was the best she could do from seeming forming an actual outburst but it was enough to show that the frustrations that have brewed had finally began to boil over our conversation.

"Bullshit!" My hand cut in a horizontal motion in the air violently, as I willed myself to not slam my fist into another object. I knew I shouldn't have given such a response but I stopped giving a shit when even this conversation was simply playing politics.

"First, such a quick and decisive nomination is unsoundly suspicious considering that I am still relatively new to the Institute. I have yet to show any form of major achievement in which could credit to my name **and** also show my so-called 'qualifications'" My hand cut down in a vertical motion, playing up my unvented thoughts like a conductor leading an orchestra as I brought a pointing finger at Vannakis.

"Second, without giving me a valid reason why I was nominated suspects me to believe that I am only being deferred such a responsibility to be hammered as a scapegoat when the Peace Conference does go awry." Though I was hugely assuming what might be, I echoed my frustrations as I finished my ranting. Vannakis' eyes began to twitch with anger, strands of her hair began to rise with the rising flow of energy emanated from her body. She stood, her fists tightened in a ball as her teeth clenched.

"What ignorant insolence!" She growled through her teeth, her emotions seemingly held back by the thinnest of leashes as her knuckles turned a consistent, pure white underneath her grip. 

"These decisions aren't made to attempt to be seen as some sort of facade." Her voice began to raise from every word she spoke as her tone become more clear with the anger that seethed from her voice. "I'll always taken every option possible whenever I asked to come to a decision. Don't think that this was made so lightly just so it would fit your fantasy of what you-"

The doorknob clicked, swinging the door open as the shuffling of feet entered the room. Two people, dressed in their respective founder colours of their element, immediately stopped the conversation as my eyes recognized Founder Silverman and Founder Zheng. Their presence immediately defused the high-strung energy that was contained in the atmosphere of Founder Vannakis' office.

I couldn't help but take a quick glance back at Vannakis, her face had quickly retreated back to a neutral, passive look that she was known for. If I had no idea what had happened, I would have never guessed that she was the same infuriated person a few moments earlier. Silverman clicked his tongue as his head scanned between myself and Vannakis before a small smirk crept onto his face.

"It seems as if our entrance was quite timely considering the circumstances that have unfolded here." Zheng spoke from behind Silverman, shifting her square-framed glasses up to her nose as she walked towards Vannakis' desk. Short, black hair that curled above her shoulders and brown eyes was the first imagery that I was able to see as Silverman seemed to recover when Zheng had beaten him to the punch.

"Indeed..." He gave a short pause, only to turn to me as he continued what he thought. "Rarely does Founder Vannakis get so heated. Must have been one hell of a conversation..." Silverman dragged his last thought out, his eyes finally meeting mine as I folded my arms uncomfortably. I wasn't sure if I had to take his comment as a compliment, but regardless, it seemed to have done its job of calming the situation while simultaneously changing the subject.

My frustrations deflated immediately, in which turned from feelings of wanting to smash something in towards a new wonderment of why I was now talking to three Founders. My face must have been plastered with the new emotions of confusion and suspicion as Founder Zheng seemingly caught onto my thoughts first.

"We are here simply to back up Founder Vannakis's claims and arguments. Your suspicion towards the nomination is not unfounded." Zheng seemed to take a short glance at Vannakis, a stare to which she was silently asking for permission of sorts. Vannakis seemed to bow her head as she finally sat back into her seat.

"The power of a Founder is far-reaching, we still know that our limit comes that we are unable to anything without being put into the limelight. Yet, even if we had our suspicions of a mole within the Institute staff, it would be improbable for us to catch the person responsible." Vannakis stated as her hands drew to her forehead.

I couldn't help but nod with agreement. Founders held an huge proportionate of power and it was well-regulated due in part that any action a Founder was transparent to the public eye. Which also meant that if they knew that had a mole within the Institute, it would be impossible to find them out without alerting them beforehand.

"Sending you was our best option to investigate more on this manner with the knowledge that you couldn't be our mole." Zheng continued, rapping her hands on the desk as she interjected into my thoughts. Their assumption wasn't that far off as the person who was operating most likely had an extensive reach within the Institute itself.

"Besides, your beginnings do make you one of the best chances for a neutral mediator." Founder Silverman stated. My response was silence as I nodded my head. "Your lack of wanting power, your reputation before you came to the Institute shows your neutrality , and your lack to align with any city-state makes you the best candidate."

Logically, it made sense. No matter how I wanted to angle it, their claims were still correct in their own accord. It was hard for myself to admit that my lack of insight came mostly from how stubborn I was to wanting to believe that the Founders were trying to screw me, in a way.

"Your feelings still emulate hesitation. Is it much too hard for you to believe that you have been nominated for the sake that we believe that you are best fit for the job?" Zheng spoke once more, the comment felt more like a slap of reality as I sighed in resignation.

Maybe it was that I didn't want to have the role of responsibility. The unwillingness to deal with what reality could throw at me because I had already pulled a front in which gives me an excuse to not be responsible as my hands squeezed my forearms. My fingers tapped. musing to myself as my own stubbornness finally caved towards what the Founders were stating.

Breathing out slowly, I finally sat myself back down. The Founders seem to look at each other, as if they knew I was going to come round eventually to the same conclusion that they had. They sat around me, forming a semi-circle in front of me as if I was a student about to learn a new lesson.

"Fine." I relented, pushing whatever stupid thoughts I had left of saying as I thought about my next sentence. "Give me the crash course and yes..." I paused as I saw Silverman give a small smirk as he played with his graying, blue hair. "Start from the very beginning."

 _-Narrated_

 _7 Hours into the Peace Conference_

To state that the conference was going 'smoothly' depended how one person was going to determine a smooth conference. Technically, talks were seemingly 'normal' as discussions were leading towards developing a more intricate peace treaty between the city states. These conversations held a healthy back-and-forth as few interruptions only came from the need of breaks or to help re-lead the discussion back to the original matter.

A part of why the initial discussion seemed more than civil was also that the conference was holding its first sit-in, a large barrier of magic-infused glass slot between those interested in watching the conference and those that had to partake in it. The room felt as if we had entered a more luxurious court room, without the atmosphere of someone being tried for a crime.

However, the initial pleasantries had quickly faded as talks had degenerated quickly into a back and forth political fight. It was clear that the history that ran between each of the city-states had been brewed into a fiery pot that took very little effort to ignite. When talks began to stagnate, due to conflicting interests of each city-state, the fuelled hatred and frustrations had become center stage as Yin watched in silence.

There was very little one could do in Yin's position. Initial pleasantries and open promises to come to a consensus was underlined with what he knew hid the unpleasantness of what the past had forged the relationships between the city-states. When the past affects how each states view each other, embedding cherry-picked beliefs that align with their own reality of that history, it was no surprise to Yin to see how quickly the conference broke down to a verbal struggle.

Yet, their verbal struggle was seemingly boring to Yin. He had more important things on his minds. The bomb attempt, the slaughter within the Lunari Temple, his own inadequacy in dealing with people he considered close. Even while listening to the Founders speak about their own suspicions, Yin still couldn't keep his focus on the task at hand. His own feelings, even after their own reassurance, weren't able to stop the control that his thoughts had on him.

He closed his eyes, attempting to mentally shake his rampaging and overlapping thoughts away as he focused on the conference, here and now. But his thoughts clung to him like bad memories that would not go away. He needed something to help re-engage him to the conversation, something to enlighten him.

Yin looked to the Founders, their seating positions put Yin in the middle of the 5 founders around the overly sized, round table in which the 'talks' were being currently discussed. Gauging their reactions told Yin two things about these talks. The first was the eerily calmness to the situation at hand. Granted, it was most likely not their first experience with such volatile talks, but not even provoking a reaction out of the Founders was also a bit unsettling.

Yet, their calmness also brought Yin to his second observation as it seemed their eyes had been scanning without ever stopping. Through the veil in which hid their true emotions, his eyes looked at how each were looking with a determined purpose, as if what they were seeing was giving them every detail that they needed to know. Their movements of their eyes were not without purpose, looking as the conversation bounced between the representatives as they zoned in on their targets.

His mind snapped from the cloudy mess of thoughts as he finally turned his attention to the conversation, putting his hands towards his closed eyes, letting his ears speak to what was going on. The city-state delegations that were speaking right now were from Demacia and Noxus. Other city-states that were recognized by the Institute included Ionia, Bilgewater, Piltover, Zaun, Freljord and Bandle City. But for this conference, the main four that had taken attendence were Ionia, Freljord, Demacia and Noxus as they positioned themselves around the table.

"Do you even think that what you are demanding are even in the realm of rationality!" The Prince of Demacia, Jarvan snapped in tempered anger as a fist came hammering down on the table. His pristine, golden armor and crown rattled in the backlash of force Jarvan used as his temperament was matched by the smarminess of the robed figure known as Swain.

"As if you could privy me with what you mean by rationality? A full Noxian disarmament? I'm sorry to say that I do not have the thinking capacity of an idiot who blindly follows stupidity." Tapping the end of his cane onto the table, it swung as it softly landed to rest on his shoulder as he leaned back in his seat. "Then again, I don't expect Royal simpletons to understand true intellect."

Swain's response had an instant reaction; the prince prancing to his feet as quickly as he unsheathed his unwieldy large spear as the sound of a weapon drawn to which he was hastily stopped midway.

"Calm, my prince. His response provokes but should not illicit no action." The seneschal known as Xin Zhao stated, matching the furious glare that impeded the prince's action as a quick moment passed before he slowly sat back down. While the two delegations sat on polar opposites of the large table, it was still apparent how thick their hate for the other ran through the atmosphere.

A large clunk landed on the table, chains spilling on as the blue-forged metal head clattered as one of Freljordian leaders stood up. Yin took a quick glance, the insignia showing the winter's claw made it easy to recognize her as Sejuani. "These talks are meaningless. Why are we here having to listen to problems that don't even affect us?"

"Because that is what a conference is. A place to which to discuss the issue of maintaining peace without tearing our home apart like a piece of paper." Ashe spoke, donning a more royal blue apparel as she sat with her arms folded and eyes closed. Sejuani turned, giving her a hard glance as her flail was flung back to rest on her hardened shoulders. She looked like she was about to say something back but the voice of Swain had cut her off.

"Ironic coming from the one who says she is the leader of the Freljord and yet, you cannot even unite your own 'people'". Swain stated apathetically, the way he annunciated people sounded as if he had a hard time believing it. Sejuani's hard glance immediately turned to Swain, her statement turned into a poorly concealed growl.

"I watch that tongue Noxian. Have you already forgotten how you couldn't control a 'bunch of barbarians'. And don't dare put me with her. Her peace will be her downfall when I unite the Freljord as one." Ashe's face turned from pleasant surprise to a disguised scowl as she listened to Sejuani.

"You are naive if you believe peace is a weakness. A warring spirit will not achieve anything but more war. How can you find your strong when they will simply die in your wars." The Duchess of Ionia, Karma spoke as her eyes remained closed.

"Don't lecture me on peace when you yourself also questioned such peaceful traditions." Sejuani acidly fired back, her gauntlet tightened around her flail as she spoke.

"Yes, have your petty arguments somewhere else while the real nations talk." Swain entered the conversation again, only to have eyes and the re-ignited anger focus on him.

"Stop with such insinuating comments. We do not need to boil down to another petty argument again." Ashe tried to mediate but it was only cut off by Sejuani which in turned another argument brewed as Yin turned to look at the Founders. Their emotions, unmoving to the events, as if they were waiting for something.

Yin couldn't understand. The ideals behind the conference and the conversation had deviated away from its true purpose. "It's like listening to children argue." Yin muttered in disbelief, only for his hand resting on his chin to unconsciously slam onto the table with a loud thump. The immediate silence grabbed his attention, which followed by the eyes of all as Yin realized what he had done.

Yin's eyes turned to the Founders to which their attention had finally moved, this time looking at him. "Does the mediator have any advice to add?" Founder Vannakis asked. That rung through Yin's mind. _Did I have something to say._ Yin thought as he took the moment to think. This whole time he had done nothing except going through the motions, simply acknowledging the basics of what was a mediator's job. A bitter memory dwelled in the back of his mind; Was he really wanting to change or was he hiding from that change.

 _No... There is nothing I can do. I can't fix history nor change it._ Yin thought as his hidden hand crumpled into a tight fist. "I propose we end tonight's session and move on tomorrow. We been at this for 7 hours and it will take a fresh mind to look at this openly." Yin stated, doing his best to hide his own disgust as he masked his tone. The thought repeated like a broken record, as he watched the room begin to burst into mutters. It had seem as if, though most seemed unsatisfied, that they would silently take his word as some of the delegations began to stand.

His eyes turned towards Vannakis, her face unreadable unlike earlier where her emotions could easily be seen. There seemed to be a faint image of unimpressed, as if she was expecting something out of him but the thought repeated. _What could I do? I can't change history._ The thought added to his mind as it repeated in an endless cycle. His hands slowly tightened and un-tightened, attempting to release his nerves as he watched people leave their seats in whispering talks.

His eyes glanced around, watching as the audience slowly and surely began to dissipate as he was one of the last few to leave the conference. He watched as the founders got up from their seats, watching as each took their leave. Founder Silverman seemed to stop, giving a hard look at Yin as his hand dressed over the top of the table, making an invisible circle with his left hand in front of his seat before turning and leaving.

 **SLAM!** The sound of frustration packed into a fist thumping on the table as Yin internally groaned to himself. _Why at all of the damn times!_ __He relented through the safety of his mind as he watched Ashe's bow placed on the table. The Frost Queen's arm trembled in emotion, most likely anger as she did her best to stay externally calm. It suddenly became apparent as she was one of the last champions to leave.

"What... is the point of this when we **get nothing done!** " Her tone raised to a yell as anger reverberated as her head bowed done. "101! 101 conferences and nothing ever gets done. I've seen the conferences before Freljord was finally given status of city-state. I thought something could be changed but it is always the **same damn thing!** "

Her statements flooded the room, encircling like a tightening grip of reality as her eyes looked up to meet Yin's. Though no tears could be seen, the distraught and anger were clearly mirrored in her eyes. "Tell me Summoner! What will change tomorrow when nothing happens?!"

Her anger and distraught subsided, the sudden silence blooming awkwardly truly as Yin stayed silent. _I don't know..._ Yin thought. It was the first time he was at a loss of words, where he was asked on what to do. The position placed him in a lose-lose choice. There was no way he could answer her question but not answering her question would also be a de-service to what he was trying to accomplish.

"..." Yin's mouth opened but he couldn't formulate his words. What could he say? Shallow words of encouragement that mean nothing at all. Or just anything to look like he wasn't someone that was willing to see the norm past without at least acknowledging it. However, it seemed Ashe had taken no notice, her frustrations simmering down. _There is nothing that can be done. Your silence proves that fact._ Ashe resigned in thought, finally turning as she made her way to the door.

As Ashe's hand reached for the door, Yin watched as he slumped into his chair. A hand reached to his head as he rubbed his temples in pity. ' _ **You listen yet your demeanor states you don't care.' Founder Vannakis spoke as Yin sat in the office, perplexed by what she said. He literally sat and listened through their stories, all their theories, all their thoughts. And now he was being told that he was being apathetic?! He only gave a confused look as Vannakis shook her head. 'You don't get it do you? You didn't sit down because you wanted to do something, you did it because going through the motions is the easiest way out. The easiest way to tell yourself that you at least tried.'**_

The click of a doorknob turning as the faint creak of the wooden door opened as the memory flashed. "Change never comes from just an individual." Yin said, just loud enough as the sound of footsteps stopped. It is a fixed habit, saying something in the hopes of appeasing his own self righteousness.

"Do you really believe that?" Ashe was quick on the reply but Yin had no answer to return. _What can I believe?_ He thought to himself as his left hand had covered his eyes. A sudden, soft touch of coldness radiated from his hand as he could feel some force peeling it off his face. His eyes had found Ashe's, his brown eyes meeting her blue eyes.

"Do you really believe it?" Ashe repeated her question. Yin couldn't escape, words were less meaningful as she had him in a staring contest to which the literal metaphor of your eyes being windows to one's soul could be true. _What do I believe in?_ He thought, a quick glance looking at Ashe as his answer began to formulate in his mind.

"No. I don't." Ashe's face turned into a frown as she stood up, her hood falling behind her to which her white hair freely danced on her shoulders.

"Then, why say it?" She demanded. Her body language turned into a fit of anger. Her arms thrown into the air as she pulled any loose strands of hair to the side. "I know optimism isn't something known well in politics but I don't need to be told twice that-"

"You all act like children?" Yin's outburst had snapped his carefully placed facade. He was finished with holding back, listening to others put their jabs in as the last word as he stood from his seat, a hand angrily planting itself to the table surface.

He rolled his eyes, giving a heavy sigh. "Like... Fuck! Do you even know the concept of negotiating? Does anyone know?"

Ashe opened her mouth, her anger lit in her eyes as she attempted to speak. "I don't need to be lectured on how to play politics." Yin palmed a hand to his face, giving another frustrated groan.

"Play politics? How is understanding the other playing politics? What their needs and wants are?" Yin stated, his voice beginning to raise as he matched Ashe's frustration.

"Their needs and wants? There is no selflessness here! Just them being selfish! Only thinking for themselves and the betterment of themselves." Ashe proclaimed, a finger pointing towards the door exit as Yin couldn't hold himself back as his voice strained into a yell.

" **EVERYONE IS SELFISH!** " The walls echoed his voice as Yin struck the air with his hand as it tightened to a fist. His voice strained as he finally leashed back his anger as he struggled to keep a calm tone. "Everyone has something they want, they need in their life. Those needs and wants turn to what they believe, their own purpose, to which they chase things to reach that goal."

"How can you say that when there are people who always help others, regardless whether or not it helps them or not." Ashe's voice said, taken aback from Yin's yelling as Yin gave a dry scoff.

"Really? Cause helping others doesn't simply make it a selfless act. Just because you did something that benefited another doesn't make it a good act. I could be helping a Noxian merchant and some believe that I will be working with the enemy."

"That doesn't mean that everyone is selfish!" Ashe stated back.

"Is that really true? To believe that you are selfless, or to think that what you are doing is benefitting others and not yourself is the most selfish act I can see. How can you decide whether or not it is a truly selfless act? To know if your help is **really** helping others? Helping a terminally-ill person might sound selfless but what happens if the best act is to do simply nothing at all? Instead of prolonging their pain, is the best action to lead them to death's door faster?"

Yin sighed, his body leaned into the table as his hands stretched out to support his weight as he pressed down on the table. "Look from the other person's view. Understand why they believe in it and then move forward. Once you know what that person wants is when it is the best time to actually negotiate with them."

It was Ashe's turn to scoff this time, folding her arms as she shook her head vehemently. "And I'm called idealistic. You are literally forgetting that there is history between city-states. You can't ask them to simply forget about it."

"That is what I am exactly saying." Yin's eyes now pierced through Ashe's stare, the eyes lit with a conviction that Ashe had never seen before as she steadied her tone.

"You cannot ask someone to simply forget their history!" She said, only for Yin to slap the table as he shook his hands in the air.

"Why? History is just that. History. The past. It's already done and it's already gone. What can you do to change it?" His hands stopped shaking, merely grabbing the air as he put his hands down to his side. "I'm not saying forget about your history. People have been lost to that history and we should not forget their actions. But there are only two options you have if you wish to properly talk to the other side. Forgive about what has happened in the past and move forward or as I said earlier, forget about the past."

Ashe's arms trembled as she clenched her fist. Her head drooped down as she spoke. "You are just saying this fluff to impress me."

Yin shrugged his shoulders. "Possibly. But I do believe that you could change this conference." Ashe's head turned up, her eyes locking quickly to Yin's as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'll admit that your idealism is quite admirable. It's probably what this conference needs but I bet you could be more effective if you understood the person you sit across from."

He threw his arms in the air once more, opening his hands up to the ceiling as he turned around. "As you said; Maybe it's just my world of idealism but even you should see that Swain and Jarvan don't like the status quo. Or possibly, you won't find peace until all you die and the next generation takes over. Just... Think about it."

Yin had to hold himself back. He knew that saying the wrong thing or the wrong idea was something that would bite him in the future. Silence prevailed as Ashe didn't speak again, the footsteps tapping the stone floor as she made her way to the door. The creak of the door opened, signifying that someone was leaving as the footsteps carried outside before silence took over once more.

Yin took a sigh of relief as he stretched his neck. He couldn't remember the last time he spoke his mind and it felt as if he had suddenly taken off a pressure that had been weighing on him. _Maybe... This wasn't as bad as I thought._ He turned, a hand gliding over the table as he began to make his way to the door. His eyes traced his hand's movement until his right eye suddenly turned red, a sudden bleep telling him a location of something near.

 _What?!_ He internalized. Nothing strange happened so why would his right eye react now. He could see a faint outline, near where Silverman was standing earlier as he began to cautiously approach it. His hand ceased its touch from the table as he walked slowly. Closer and closer he got and so wrapped up that he didn't hear the door open.

"Uhhh-Hello! Summoner?" The voice of the nine-tailed fox had entered the room, holding what seemed to be a medium-sized box as she stood in front of the door. Yin's mind snapped, his eyes blinking for a moment as he tried to register what was going on.

"A-A-Ahri? What seems to be the problem?" He stuttered at first, only to pick himself up as she walked towards him with a smile.

"There's a gift for you!" She said happily.

 _What?_ On reflex, Yin took a step back as an arm came up defensively. "What seems to be the problem?" Ahri said, tilting her head to the side as Yin looked at the box. There was always a problem to solved and now he had another problem to add to his long list.

Who gave him that box? More importantly, what was in the box?

 **A/N: I'm alive... I think. This was a struggle. I have a bit of a habit of going through phases of hating my writing and hating my writing more. I will be working on chipping the last chapter of this story away as well as the other stories that I have been working at too. Hopefully, I can get it in a month but every time I say that, it ends up taking 3 months for me to finally finish it. Hope you are having a good summer and enjoy.**


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